I'm Your Boyfriend!
by Airame Phantom
Summary: The trio is at the amusement park and when it's time to leave, Sam insists on waiting for her parents. Danny wouldn't hear it, but agrees to it and leaves. But before that, he accidentally lets something slip. Some DXS in the beginning
1. Amusing?

A/N: Another story came to mind! My muse is really working now! YAY! Well, here's the first chapter!

EDITED 10/06/11

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**I'm Your Boyfriend!**

**Chapter One**

**Amusing?**

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Ah, regular day in Amity Park. It was late November and the gang chose to go the amusement park right after school, in hopes of celebrating the end of another week. It was supposed to be a clear day, and so far it was. The sun was shining, the wind was blowing, and there was not a single ghost in sight. It had been a few weeks since the last ghost attack and Danny was enjoying his time off. For once in almost a year, he could finally spend time with his friends without worrying if the next battle would be his last. Right now, they were at the food court, talking about the school day that had happened a few hours before.

The shiny red tables gleam in the sun. 3 clear cups filled with colored liquid sit in front of them, smoothies. Tucker leans back in his chair as far as he could go without tipping over, a girn plastered onto his face from the story he had just told. "I swear! If Lancer ever recovers from that prank, he'll be delirious for the rest of his life!" he exclaimed, laughing.

"No kidding," Danny said, laughing also. While the two males had been having a wonderful conversation for some time now, Sam had been extraordinarily quiet that day. She had barely said a word. even at school she had been but a shadow following them around. Everyone had noticed, even Lancer. When she was the only person in the class that didn't laugh at the horrendous and smelly fluid that had exploded from the balloon on his chair, anyone would have noticed. She didn't even gag, as if the whole thing had just flown right over her head. Danny wouldn't have been surprised if she had completely missed the entire thing. He looked at her. If she just hadn't felt like taking things would have been fine. But what bothered him the most was that she refused to tell them what was wrong, not even after he'd asked that morning. It seemed something was bothering her greatly. He wondered what it was…

"Hey, Danny," Tucker's voice broke the silence. The techno geek waved a hand in front of his face. "Danny, hello!"

Danny snapped out of it, blinking and visibly shaken by the sudden intrusion. "Huh? What?" he asked then, looking at Tucker. Sam raised a brow at their display, but said nothing. she hadn't even noticed Danny staring at her.

"I asked if you wanted to check out that new roller coaster," Tucker repeated, looking at his friend in slight disbelief. He motioned in the direction of a large spiral of metal poking up above the rest of the attractions.

"Oh, uh, sure," Danny said, standing. He hadn't actually heard what Tucker had said, even after his repetition. All of a sudden the only thing he could think of was the fact that this could be his chance to bring Sam into the action. Maybe all she needed was a push. "You coming, Sam?"

The girl didn't even look up. She took the straw from the cup in front of her and sipped from it. "No thanks, guys, I'm good," she said, voice calm, without hesitation. She looked away.

Danny frowned. _Something's wrong_. _I can feel it_.

This time she felt Danny's stare. She glanced up at him briefly, confirming her suspicion. A warm sensation flooded her face and she gazed at the table a little harder, hoping her hair would cover up the pink mess, but Danny caught it.

Tucker didn't noticed the small exchange. He had already set his eyes on his ow goal, the spiral of metal only a 5-minute walk away. All he heard was a "yes" from Danny and a "no" from Sam. "Okay, come on, Danny," he said, tugging on the boy's arm, itching to go.

Danny pulled back, taking his chair back out from underneath the table and plopping himself down. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously and gave Tucker a sheepish grin. "On second thought, Tuck, I think I'll bail too," he said, turning his eyes back on Sam's forlorn figure. Tucker looked at them, confused. Why on earth would they rather sit there in what he expected to be awkward silence when they _could_ be riding what would probably be the best roller coaster of their lives?

He shrugged. Maybe it was a lovebird thing.

"Alright, be back in an hour tops!" Tucker said and ran off towards the line to the new roller coaster,leaving the two teens to contemplate their situation. Danny watched Tucker leave until he lost him in the crowd. He turned around in his seat, pushing and sliding the sweating cup in front of him. What now?

Sam watched _him_ this time. He had already tried to ask her what was bothering her that morning. If he asked again, she would give him the same answer: nothing. She took another sip from her smoothie. "Why'd you bail?" she asked. Danny fidgeted even more furiously with the strawberry smoothie before him, staring at it, then pushing it away in almost disgust.

"I dunno," he mumbled, shrugging one shoulder and leaning back in his chair. Every other one of his movements was giving away his nervousness. If he could jsut sit still... "I didn't want to leave you alone." He crossed his arms, finding no other way to hold them still, and looked at Sam, blue eyes locking onto hers.

Sam felt a deep blush creep onto her cheeks again and quickly looked away. "Thanks," she mumbled, so softly that Danny barely heard it. She knew he must not have meant it the way she thought he did - the way she _wished _he had - but it still sent the butterflies in her stomach into a frenzy.

"No problem," Danny said, smiling, leaning forward on the table with his elbows. At least she was talking. He noticed the blush on her face, the same as before, but made nothing of it. Sam stirred her melting smoothie with the straw and took a sip, stealing a quick glance at the blue-eyed boy in front of her through her hair. Feeling Danny's gaze upon her only made her more nervous. She cleared her throat, trying to get him back into the reality of his stare. The boy jumped back a little, confused, until he noticed her look at him a little strangely and then quickly look away again. "Oh, uh, sorry about that," he said quickly, a blush matching Sam's creeping onto his face too. He lowered his glance and gripped his knees with his hands. Awkward.

"That's okay," Sam said, smiling thinly at his reaction. He was so cute when he did that...

The silence fell again, them both wondering what to say. Danny started to push his smoothie around the table again, back and forth, leaving a wet trail because of the coldness against the otherwise warm sun. "So…" he mumbled, eyes flitting form the cup to Sam and back.

"So," Sam replied, pushing her own cup away.

"Sam," Danny said, catching her attention by the seriousness of his tone. He looked at her, she looked back. His brows furrowed, giving his boyish expression a grave undertone. "Sam, what's wrong?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, leaning back in her chair, more in awe at the sudden change in appearance than his question.

Danny didn't stir. It was now or never, and he'd really appreciate it if it were _now_. "I know something's wrong, but I don't know what," he said, his eyes still locked onto hers.

Sam looked away, shrugging. "I don't know," she said coolly. "It's like a feeling inside that I can't quite comprehend…"

Danny didn't understand. Give it to Sam to give him some weird cryptic answer to what he figured was just a simple question. He sighed, feeling as if he'd just been betrayed. Why couldn't she just come out and tell him? They'd been friends for so long and yet even while he was worried sick about her, she still refused to give him a _real_ hint. But then again, he thought to himself, scooting his chair back and placing his arms in front of him, he would not be in his place if he accused her of lying to him. He looked at his smoothie, suddenly feeling even more disgusted by it, and pushed it away. He didn't want to press for answers, but he couldn't help feeling that there was more on Sam's mind. "Are you sure?" he found himself saying, voice soft, defeated. He didn't even look at her.

"Positive."

"Okay." Danny sighed and leaned back in his chair.


	2. Can't We Just MakeUp and Live?

A/N: I got Reviews! YAY! Thank you all! Well, here's the second chapter!

EDITED 10/06/11

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**Chapter Two  
Can't We Just Make Up and Live?**

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After one hour and a half of awkward silence and short, always-ending conversations, Tucker finally came back. He looked sick, a little green, but other than that, his expression upon finding the teens exactly as he had left them was one of "should've known".

Danny looked up at the boy. the sun had begun to go down so Tucker's shadow had alerted Danny of his coming. He smiled. "Rough time, Tuck?" The answer was obvious looking at the expression on his face. Danny grinned.

"You have no idea," Tucker mumbled, sitting down in the chair he had left behind. He let himself sink in, a hand on his stomach, but nothing he did could make the world stop spinning.

"You puked?" Sam asked, looking at him. Tucker nodded feebly. "Then you probably shouldn't have gone on that roller coaster right after eating, huh?" Tucker rolled his eyes and looked at them before waving away her comment. There was a little smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, but she didn't let it show. It was a huge relief to have him back, that way she and Danny didn't have to pretend to make small talk.

"I was gone for more than an hour, what'd you guys do while you waited?" he asked, hoping to change the subject. His words were a little slurred. He had put his head down, cradling it in his arms, so he also sounded muffled.

Danny shrugged. He had tried his very best to make Sam tell him what was wrong, but no matter what he did, she always skirted right around the subject, talking circles around him. Now she barely even looked at him. "Just...talked," he mumbled.

tucker rose his eyebrows. Talking? Really? didn't look like they had made much progress though. Like Danny, Tucker had also noticed that Sam had been extraordinarily quiet, but unlike Danny, Tucker knew why. "Really now," Tucker said, color coming back to his face. He looked a little better. That was probably because a few jokes meant to make either of his friends blush had come to mind. "And what exactly did you guys talk _about_?"

"Nothing," both teens spat out, wondering about the suspicious/playful I-know-what-you're-thinking tone in Tucker's voice. Somehow, whenever he looked and sounded like that, it never fared well for either of them.

Tucker leaned back in his seat again, crossing his arms over his chest. "Wow, you guys just talked in sync," Tucker noted. Sam rolled her eyes and looked at her smoothie, grimacing. Tucker wiggled an eyebrow at Danny.

"Where are you going with that, Tucker?" Sam questioned, still scowling at her smoothie. She wasn't in the mood for this. Say _anything_, just don't mention her and Danny in the same sentence. It wouldn't make things any better.

"Well, you guys don't usually talk in sync unless you're being called lovebirds, or something else that totally embarrasses you both," Tucker explained. He knew what she must be thinking, after all, they'd been best friends forever. She was probably thinking that he was butting in, judging from her tone, but he didn't care. He knew what he was doing.

Both teens gaped at him, even Sam, and turned a, in Tucker's words, beautiful and satisfying shade of pink. He laughed. "Tucker, can I talk to you for a second?" Danny said quickly, annoyed and just a bit mad at his friend. He glanced quickly at Sam, then stood.

"Sure, buddy," Tucker mumbled, standing as well. He was still smiling. Both teens walked away from the table and outside the eating area, a few yards away and just out of ear-shot. Sam watched them walk away.

* * *

"Tucker," Danny started sternly, pulling Tucker away from the food court they had left Sam at. "Why do you always have to do that?"

"Do what?"

"That!" Danny insisted. Tucker looked at him blankly, whether he was pretending or not wasn't really up for debate. He was really confused. Sure, sometimes he took it just a tad bit too far, but never enough for Danny to get so upset about it. Danny sighed and looked off towards Sam, a cause for Tucker to give his friend a worried glance.

"This isn't about that joke thing I pulled, is it?" he said then, thoughtful. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against one of the many light posts in the park.

"Is it obvious?" Danny asked, putting on a weak smile. Tucker gave him this look that said: Yes, yes it is. Danny sighed. Tucker could tell the guy was aggravated. He was supposed to be a teen super hero, a life-saver, and yet his own friend was keeping a secret from him. Well, it wasn't _really_ a secret, seeing as it sometimes it seemed as if Danny was the only one that didn't know, but still. "Sam hasn't been herself lately. I have a feeling something's wrong, but she won't tell me anything about it."

"You asked?" Tucker said. Danny nodded, looking back at him. "So what do you want me to do?"

"Talk to her," Danny said, almost pleaded. "I put up an act back there so she would think I'm talking to you about something else, but, Tuck, I'm really worried."

tucker shook his head, a little exasperated. "Danny, I'm sure it's nothing, I mean, if it's serious then she would have already told you," her murmured. Danny's shoulders slumped. That just wasn't good enough for him. It sucked not knowing what was going through her mind, she was so important to him. Tucker sighed. "Fine, I'll talk to her, but don't say I didn't tell you so."

Almost immediately his face lit up. "Thanks, man," Danny said.

"No problem," Tucker mumbled, a little reluctant. They began to walk back towards Sam, each taking their seat and trying to make it seem they'd been arguing or something. Danny had the most trouble; nothing could wipe the grin off his face.

"What was that all about?" Sam asked, glancing from teen to teen, suspicious.

"Taught Tucker a lesson," Danny said, motioning towards himself with his thumb. Tucker looked at him. He must be really worried to try that hard - and achieve - to show he was not worried about anything. He played along.

"As if," Tucker said, matching Danny's confident mood.

"You better believe it!" Danny said back, laughing now. Sam sighed, shaking her head as the two continued shooting back at one another. this little display was earning a couple of weird looks from both the people passing by and those sitting at the tables around them.

"You're just sad because Sam's not on your side, right, Sam?" Danny asked, looking at her. Tucker knew what he was doing. He was trying to bring Sam into the conversation. He had to give him some props; Sam wasn't even interested in sitting there anymore, let alone join in.

"Wrong! 'Cause she's on my side, right, Sam?" Tucker said. he threw an arm around the girl. she tried to shove him off, but Tucker held on tightly. There was something more up his sleeve...

"Back off, she's on my side!" Danny said, standing.

"Take your own advice!" Tucker said. Both stood now, pretending to be currently annoyed by each other. Sam looked from boy to boy, trying to figure out what in the world had gotten into them. This didn't seem to be helping very much. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed one of the bus boys walking into the room behind the counter. She gulped and turned back to her friends.

"She's not responding to you, Danny, which means she's on my side," Tucker said, pointing.

"You're the one who's wrong, Foley, 'cause she's not responding to _you_," Danny said back. Then, they suddenly turned to her with looks that visibly sent a jolt through her body, her breath catching in her throat.

"Tell him you're on my side, Sam," Tucker said, refusing to even look at Danny.

"Tell him he's way over his head, Sam, 'cause you're on my side," Danny said, refusing to look at Tucker.

_I wish I could just sink into the ground! _Sam gave them a sheepish grin and brought both hands up in front of her. It felt as if the whole park was getting smaller and smaller, threatening to squeeze her guts out. "Guys, can't we just make-up and, oh, I don't know, _live_?" Sam asked. Danny and Tucker looked at her incredulously.

"You're not seriously saying you're neutral?" Tucker said dramatically, pretending to be shocked. He turned away, hurt. Danny laughed.

"Dude, she just turned you down!" he said.

Tucker whipped his head around and brought both hands up to his chest. "Turned _me_ down?" Tucker asked. Danny nodded. "I think your eyes are fooling you because she turned you down!"

The part 'turned you down' made Sam blush, a heat wave entering her body and almost making her sweat. This was going too far. Neither boy took notice.

"Wrong again, Foley," Danny said, sitting down and putting an arm around Sam's shoulders, pulling her closer to him. He looked at her. "Right, Sam? You wouldn't abandon me, would ya?" Sam's blush grew brighter. Her body was stiff and she dared not even look up, instead trying to focus on the whispers from the people around them that seemed to be getting louder. Not to mention the warmth from his body was making the heat of her own body more unbearable. "Sam?" Danny asked, looking at her. He frowned, confused. "Earth to Sam!"

Sam snapped out of it, and she turned quickly towards the voice. Unfortunately for her, Danny was much too close and their faces nearly collided! Good thing that was a _nearly_. Time stopped for that split second their noses touched. She blinked, eyes wide. Danny's own eyes had widened as he stared at her, at a complete loss at what was happening. Neither of them even dared to breathe.

A second later, both came to, and Danny fell backwards. Too close! Sam nearly fell back too, but caught herself, throwing an arm out and catching the table before her seat tipped over and clanked onto the floor. Danny sat up, rubbing the back of his head. "That hurt," he mumbled, wincing.

"Oh my gosh, Danny! I'm so sorry!" Sam exclaimed, slipping her feet beneath her and helping him up.

"No, no, it was totally my fault," Danny said, standing up. Tucker was sitting back in his chair, laughing his face off at the color of their faces. Oh how he wished he could have had his PDA out...

"Dude! You guys should have seen the looks on your faces!" he exclaimed. Both teens smiled sheepishly at each other.


	3. Our Parents'll Kill Us!

A/N: I got Reviews! YAY! Thank you all! Well, here's the third chapter!

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**Chapter Three**

Our parents are going to kill us!

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"After that rather awkward moment, we should see if we can win some prizes to remember this grand day," Tucker said, giving himself a slight accent.

"Oh, nice one, Tuck, you just out-faked Gregor's...uhm...Elliot's fake accent," Danny said, recalling the fake-ass kid who tried to get to Sam.

Sam grumbled slightly to the mention of that name.

"Oh, come on, Sam," Danny said. "You don't seriously still think Elliot being fake means no guy will ever like you for who you are, do you?" Sam didn't answer, avoiding his eyes.

There it was again, the strange feeling that something was on her mind. Danny looked at her, slightly concerned. Tucker took note of all of this and decided a joke was at hand.

"Well, if in the end no relationship works out, you could always date me or Danny," he said, smiling towards Sam, then jerking his head towards Danny. Sam felt a blush land on her cheeks.

"Knock it off, Tucker!" Danny exclaimed, his hands finding their way to the smoothie he never finished.

"You better not, you'd better-" Tucker didn't complete the sentence. Danny had tossed some of the contents in the cup at Tucker, splashing him with strawberry smoothie.

"Unless Sam prefers another flavor besides strawberry, you'll be pretty tough competition," Danny pointed out, laughing.

"You are so dead!" Tucker said, standing up.

Danny laughed and stood as well. "How, strawberry face?"

Tucker chased after him, own smoothie at hand. Danny laughed and ran off before the smoothie could even touch him. "Danny, get back here!" Tucker shouted, trying again to throw some smoothie at Danny. Danny got away the first time, but come around the second, he was hit full in the face. Danny stood there, Tucker laughing, as he wiped the smoothie off his face, grim expression changing to one of pure fun.

Sam watched from afar, smiling as she watched the two. Tucker was drenched in strawberry smoothie while Danny was drenched in banana smoothie. Her expression changed when both boys looked at her, smiling mischievously. She shook her head, finding her way to her feet. "You guys better not!" she shouted, stumbling back slightly, accidentally leaving her smoothie.

"Tucker, if you will," Danny said, holding out both arms towards Sam while facing Tucker.

"Please, Danny, it would be my honor if you should go," Tucker said, doing the same.

"Then shall we both go at the same time?" Danny asked. Each had totally fake accents, giving Sam the chills.

"Indeed!" Tucker said and they both rushed towards Sam. Danny skipped right to her while Tucker grabbed her smoothie.

"Danny! Tucker!" Sam shouted, smiling slightly.

"Now, Tuck!" Danny exclaimed, getting behind Sam and grabbing both arms. Sam gave a slight squeal as Tucker poured the smoothie over her. She laughed, it giving her the chills.

Unfortunately for them a man that worked there called up the manager. "You three!" he shouted, coming out from the other side of the counter.

Sam had begun to wipe some of the smoothie from her hair when she heard the voice. "Run for it!" Danny exclaimed, causing the other teens to quickly run out the food court for all they were worth!

"Get back here!" the man called, waving a fist. The teens' speed did not slow, they kept at it until the man finally called security. The security was after them like lightning, searching throughout the park.

The trio got away, hiding behind the restrooms building, laughing and trying to catch their breath.

"Our parents are going to kill us!" Sam exclaimed.

"Maybe if we explain that we got caught in a totally breakdown of the smoothie machine and that's why we're covered in three different flavored smoothie, then they won't kill us," Tucker laughed.

"Sure, they'll definitely buy that!" Danny laughed. "We should probably get ourselves cleaned off, though."

"True, my parents'll kill me for this," Sam said, looking at herself. Her clothes clung to her body as did Danny and Tucker's shirts.

"No kidding," Danny said. "Since we are here, might as well clean off in the restroom."

"Yeah, come on," Tucker said. Danny followed him, Sam going her separate way to the Girls' Restrooms. After a few minutes, both of them met outside the restrooms, each looking a little better. Their hair and faces, at least, weren't sticky anymore. Not much could be done about their clothes.

"Ah well, it's a start," Sam mumbled, brushing a few locks of hair behind her ear. Both teens grinned.

"Yep, now we should really split and leave before they find us, and it's getting late," Danny said. Sam looked at her watch and nodded.

"Yeah, it's nearly eight already. The park closes around 9:30, we should go," Sam noted.

"Race you there?" Tucker asked then.

"You are so on!" Danny exclaimed and both teens broke into a long-run for the exit to the amusement park. Sam sighed and followed after them, making sure not to get left too far behind. Once outside, the boys were kidding about who won the race, saying Sam got last place and arguing over who got first.

"You guys are such kids," Sam said, laughing lightly.

"Are not!" both teens exclaimed, speaking at the same time.

"Now who's talking in sync?" Sam asked, smirking. Danny and Tucker shared a glance and both pretending to gag.

You're sick!" Danny said. Sam blushed.

"Not like that! Ew! You're sick! Come on, I know you're not like that or else I wouldn't-" she stopped herself. Danny and Tucker looked at her.

"You wouldn't what, Sam?" Danny asked her.

"Nothing, nothing," Sam said quickly, shaking her head.

"Fine, well," Danny started, but stopped upon feeling a slight raindrop fall onto his nose. He blinked, looking up as his friends laughed at his slightly startled reaction. "This is not good," he said, seeing as dark rain clouds had gathered in the sky.

"At least this way we'll get clean!" Tucker exclaimed, raising both arms in the air and waving them slightly.


	4. Rain, Rain!

A/N: Wow, man, I finally got my brain to make words! I know it isn't too long, but I hope you like this chapter. Enjoy!

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**Chapter Four**

**Rain, Rain!**

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The trio laughed at Tucker's remark. "You're not serious, right?" Danny asked. 

"One hundred percent serious!" Tucker said. Sam stopped laughing.

"Well, it's going to rain, I hope my parents get here quick," she said. Danny looked at her.

"Sam, it's going to rain soon, what time are you parents going to come?" Danny asked.

"Don't sweat it, Danny, they said they'd come pick me up once it struck 8:30," Sam said.

"The rain isn't going to wait, Sam," Danny said.

"It's not too much of a wait! What time is it now?"

Danny looked at Tucker since he didn't have a watch. Tucker looked on his PDA and confirmed that it was only 8:20 PM. Danny looked back at Sam who was smirking slightly.

"Ten minutes, Danny, I'll live," Sam said.

"But, Sam, you might get sick! I can fly you and Tucker home if you want!" Danny said, really not wanting to think of all the things that could happen if Sam stayed there alone, at 8:20 at night, in the rain.

"Danny, I'll be fine," Sam said. Danny wouldn't hear it. He crossed his arms over his chest slightly and said.

"Sam, I'm not going to leave you here alone, I'm gonna fly you home along with Tucker before this rain starts," he said sternly.

Sam gawked at him. "Under what authority do you give me an order?" she questioned him. Danny didn't back down, neither did she.

"It wasn't an order, I'm just concerned," Danny said.

"Oh, so now you're giving me orders because you're concerned? A bad excuse if you ask me," Sam said, crossing her arms as well.

Danny felt a slight bit of anger boil up. "Sam, I'm your boyfriend, will you just listen!" he exclaimed. Sam gasped; Tucker's jaw dropped; Danny slapped both hands over his mouth.

"What?" Sam asked, barely a whisper.

"Uh...uhm...I...I mean, I'm your best friend, that's a boy...a...g-guyfriend," Danny said, stumbling over his words. Sam nodded slowly, still trying to get the words to sink in. Tucker snickered. "And I'm just concerned for your well-being, just like any other friend would be."

Sam cleared her throat nervously, Danny rubbing the back of his neck, as is his own nervous habit. "So, uh, you guys will probably be off now, right?" Sam asked.

"Are you really sure you don't want me to fly you home?" Danny asked. Sam nodded. He sighed and bit his lower lip. "If your parents are late or the rain gets too unbearable, you know how and where to reach me," Danny said. Sam nodded again. "And don't hesitate," Danny added. Sam rolled her eyes and nodded. Danny was about to say something else, but Sam shushed him.

"I get it!" she said, putting both hands on his shoulders.

"Okay, okay, well, we're off now, I guess," Danny said, stepping back and towards Tucker. He took a look around and figured there weren't many people around. He quickly went ghost and flew up, picking Tucker up.

"Bye, Sam!" Tucker said. Sam waved slightly and Danny flew off. Sam waved and watched them go, shivering slightly.

* * *

Danny, meanwhile, kept an eye out on the road. No sign of Sam's parents. "Dude, she's gonna be okay," Tucker said. Danny sighed.

"I know," Danny mumbled. "But I can't help it if I'm worried about her."

"Worried enough to _accidentally_ say you're her boyfriend?" Tucker asked, adding sarcasm to the word 'accidentally'.

Danny's pale face from being in ghost form received a little color in the cheeks. "I...that...it slipped out!" he said, stumbling again. Tucker snickered.

"But-" Tucker started.

"Tucker, if you don't stop that, I'll drop you!" Danny said.

"As if," Tucker said. Danny looked at him slightly, face serious. "Okay, I get the point!"

Danny looked back up, following along the road, flying above the city only slightly, to Tucker's house.

_I hope she will be okay_, he thought silently to himself, green eyes shimmering slightly with worry.

* * *

Soon after Danny and Tucker left, the rain picked up slightly, evolving from a slight drizzle to regular, shifting rain. It stopped for one minute, then started again for nearly five minutes.

* * *

E/N: I think the plot is progressing too fast. What do you think? Hmmm... 

--Airamé Phantom


	5. Don't Worry, I'll Be There ASAP

A/N: Chapter 5! Wow, aren't we happy? Thank you to all those who reviewed, I love you all!

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**Chapter Five**

**Don't Worry, I'll Be There ASAP**

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Nearly ten or fifteen minutes after departure, Danny finally made it home, cold and a little wet, but just fine. He walked in the house, human now, and closed the door behind him, arms wrapped slightly around himself to keep warm. "Hey, Danny, how was the amusement park?" Jazz, his sister, asked. She was sitting on the couch, the latest psychology book in her hands.

"Fine, Jazz," Danny mumbled, making his way up the stairs. "I'll be in my room." He walked up the remaining steps and went into his room. The posters of NASA stuff and rockets and the like littered the walls, a couple of CDs on his desktop, and his computer switched to stand-by. He kicked the basketball next to his bed and it rolled off towards his computer desk. He sat down on his bed, shivering slightly. He looked around his room, taking in every detail. He sighed and looked out the window, the raindrops streaming down the glass. He hoped Sam was okay in all this rain... He stood and walked over to his dresser to get his pajamas.

The striped, pale-pink, button-up PJ shirt felt warm against his cold skin. He put on the dry PJ pants and began to dry his hair with the towel he'd gotten from the bathroom. He threw the towel onto his bed and walked over to his computer. He set his cellphone next to the keyboard and turned on his computer. He was surprised to see many IMs from Valerie. He barely talked to her anymore except for the occasional hello, but ever since the Gregor/Elliot incident, he'd hardly thought about her anymore. He didn't want to reply to any of them and didn't want to talk to anyone at all. He flipped his computer back off and pushed the keyboard away, putting both arms _**-** _slightly crossed _**-** _on the desktop. He looked at his cellphone, as if willing it to ring.

"Please," he mumbled very quietly. "Ring, already." He leaned his head on his arms and watched his cellphone. Soon enough, sleep over-took him and he drifted off into the relaxing state or sleep.

* * *

Meanwhile, off towards the amusement park, nearly forty minutes had passed. Sam had found cover under a roofed bus bench and was sitting there, cold and a little wet from the rain. She looked up and down the road, arms wrapped around herself, foot tapping impatiently. She looked at her wristwatch and sighed. 8:53 PM. She decided to give her parents twenty more minutes before she called them. 

Five minutes. Ten minutes. Fifteen. Twenty. Sam's teeth were chattering when she finally decided enough was enough. She took out her cellphone and punched in the numbers to her house phone. She held her phone up to her ear and listened for it to ring. One ring. Two. Three. Four. "Pick up," she urged. Nothing. She sighed with exasperation and clicked off the phone, flipping it closed. She took one last glance down the road and flipped her phone open again. Punching in a different number.

* * *

Danny was fast asleep when the sudden ringing sound of a cellphone woke his up. He bolted into an upright sitting position, shaking his head and rubbing the sleep from his eyes with one hand while the other grabbed his cellphone. He took one glance at the Caller ID and became immediately wide awake. He flipped it open and put it up to his ear. "Hello?" 

"Danny," came the slightly weak voice. Danny stood, phone still on his ear.

"Sam," he nearly shouted. His eyes landed on the digital clock on the side table next to his bed. 9:14 PM.

"Danny, can you please come get me? My parents never got here and_**-**_" Sam started, but Danny cut her short.

"Don't worry, I'll be there ASAP," Danny said.

"Thanks, Danny," Sam mumbled, the sound in her voice telling Danny she was grateful.

"No problem, bye, Sam," Danny said. Sam said bye and Danny flipped the phone closed.

Danny quickly went ghost, the white rings appearing at his middle, simultaneously running up and down his body, changing his pale pink PJ's into a white and black lab suit, the DP emblem on his chest. His black hair turned white; his blue eyes green. He quickly phased out the building, becoming intangible so the rain couldn't get at him.

He flew in a straight route to the amusement park, glancing around the road for traces of Sam. He caught sight of her sitting on the bench, looking rather miserable. He flew down, calling her name. "Sam!"

Sam looked up at him, smiled slightly. "Danny," she mumbled, words slurring. "Nice to see you. I'm so cold..."

"Don't worry," Danny said, walking up to her. "I'm gonna take you home." Sam sighed and stood, walking to him also, head bowed. She felt as if she weighed a ton, her legs not wanting to keep her up. She was tired, cold, and in serious need of some aspirin. Her head was practically spinning. She nearly stumbled and fell, but Danny kept her up. He set her straight on her feet, scanning her over. His eyebrows furrowed slightly in concern. "Sam, you look awful," he noted. Sam smiled slightly again.

"You look great," she joked. Danny smiled and hugged her. "I should have listened to you," she mumbled into his chest. Danny held her like that for a second longer before slipping his arms around her and picking her up bridal style. Sam cuddle close to him. Danny smiled slightly. He knew that in his ghost form he wasn't too warm whatsoever. He was a ghost after all. "I may not offer much consolation from the cold, but I'm sure that once you get home you can**_-" _**Danny started as he floated up into the air, but Sam cut him short.

"No," she mumbled. "Please, don't take me home, take me with you," she said. "My parents probably aren't even there..." Danny looked at her, concerned. He flew on, keeping her as close as possible.

"Why do you say that?" he asked, looking back up.

"They didn't answer when I called," Sam mumbled, closing her eyes slightly. Danny said no more, merely flew on, changing direction from the Manson Mansion, to FentonWorks.

* * *

E/N: I like this chapter, but not much happened. Oh well! Review if you want. I love reviews! BYE! 

--Airamé Phantom


	6. You're Burning Up!

A/N: Chapter 6! I'm happy, aren't you? Thank you all for reviewing! And so, my gift to you, the next chapter! Also, I'm so sorry about the long wait. I had a whole bunch of stuff to do! Now with this stupid project for math, a science fair, and so on. My schedule has gone totally bonkers! I finally got this chapter done though, so enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Six**

**You're burning up!**

* * *

Upon reaching FentonWorks, Danny phased into his room, Sam still awake but slightly weak. "Danny," she whispered as he landed on the floor and resumed human form. He didn't want to put her down, but he knew he would have to. Walking over to his bed, he set her down on the bed. 

"Sam, mind telling me why you took so long to call me? You were probably waiting there in the rain for nearly an hour," Danny said, sitting next to her. Sam shivered slightly. Danny quickly stood again. "On second thought, we'll talk about this later," he said quickly. He walked out the room and into the bathroom. He grabbed another towel for Sam to dry herself off with and came back into the room. "You should change into some dry clothes." Sam nodded slightly. "I can go see if Jazz can lend you something," Danny added.

Sam shook her head. "Just toss me a T-shirt or something, no need_**-**_" she stopped, sneezing.

"Bless you," Danny mumbled, saying that automatically. Curse good manners! Sam sniffled.

"Thanks, oh, um, there's no need to wake Jazz up for something like this," Sam finished. Her words still slurred slightly, but she managed to speak most words so that they would be coherent enough to understand. Danny nodded slightly, sighing.

"Fine," he said and walked over to his closet. He took down an over-sized T-shirt he never wore and tossed it over to Sam who caught it. She looked at it. It was blue without any writing except for a little logo on the hem of the sleeve. Danny looked at her. "I'll be right outside," he said quickly, pointing at the door with his thumb. She could have sworn there was a slight pink tint to his cheeks.

She stood, a little shaky on her feet still, and took off her midriff shirt and put on the T-shirt. It reached a little more than half-way down her thighs, almost to her knees except for a few inches. Her skirt was wet too, so she decided to take that off too. Taking the towel Danny had given her to dry her hair, she looked around the room a little. A slight knock on the door startled her.

"Done," she called. Danny opened the door a crack, peeking in, as if afraid she might not really be done. He opened the door, but, before coming in, froze at the sight of the skirt on the floor along with the shirt. His eyes landed on Sam, her sitting on the bed. "What?" she asked, wondering why he was looking at her like that. His expression was one of slight shock, slight embarrassment, and slight "What in the world?".

"Oh, uh," Sam mumbled. A slight cough took over her throat. Danny rushed over, sitting next to her. One of his hands found its way to her back, causing Sam to pause, only causing her cough to get a little more out of control. "Sam?" Danny said, patting her back slightly.

Sam cleared her throat again, putting one hand to her throat. "I'm fine," she said, her voice slightly hoarse. Danny looked at her. She was cold to the touch, but warming up slightly. She looked miserable as well.

Sam, hand still on her throat, felt awful. Her throat hurt, she had a slightly stuffy nose, and her head hurt like hell. "Danny," she mumbled, looking at him. "Do you have any aspirin?" Danny stood.

"Uhm, yeah, wait up," he ran out the room, going back to the bathroom for the third time already. He grabbed some aspirin and made his way back into the room, reading the number of pills and stuff for different ages. Sam, meanwhile, felt super miserable. She was sick to her stomach and feeling a little bit jumpy for some reason. She picked up her legs and laid down on Danny's bed, trying to think of something other than the pain in her head. When Danny came in, his glance was still downcast, him reading still. "It says two cap-" he stopped, looking up. Sam looked as if she were near falling unconscious or something. He looked at her for a second. Unfortunately for him, his eyes tended to wander. He shook his head, looking down again.

"It says what?" Sam asked, coughing slightly again when she'd finished the sentence. Danny walked over, opening the small bottle and taking out two pills.

"Do you want some water?" he asked then. Sam shook her head. She sat up slightly and held out her hand.

Danny held the pills over her hand and dropped them into her hand. She put both pills her mouth, holding her head up slightly. She swallowed them. Sighing, she looked at Danny. "Sam, I'm glad you called me and all, but why'd you take so long?" Danny asked then, sitting down next to her and watching her closely.

"I thought my parents would show up," she mumbled, lying back down on her side. Danny stood and took a seat on the floor in front of her. "Danny, they forgot. They weren't even home." Her voice was barely a whisper. Danny felt a little bad now. Her parents had forgotten. And Sam did say they wouldn't pick up the phone. Where were they then?

"You know," he said. "Sam, maybe it just slipped their mind, I mean, that happens to my dad all the time." Sam nodded feebly.

"Danny, I feel really bad for being a burden to you," she said. Danny quickly put both hands in front of him.

"Sam, you're not a burden, and it's really no trouble," Danny said. "I don't mind taking care of you." The minute that last sentence was out of his mouth, he regretted it. Sam looked at him slightly, a slight pinkish tint in her cheeks. Danny twiddled his thumbs, finding a slight awkward silence pass. Sam, suddenly, began coughing. Danny quickly turned to her, standing up, but sitting back down once the moment had passed.

Once Sam stopped coughing, her hand back on her throat, Danny quickly said, "Maybe you should just go to sleep. Plus if you still have a headache, sleep might help."

Sam looked at him. "If it's no problem," she mumbled. Danny shook his head.

"Not one at all," he said, standing up. Sam sat up. Danny reached over and pulled the bed spread of the bed. Sam watched. When he was done, she laid back down, covering herself with the blanket. "Thanks, Danny," she mumbled. "I'm so cold for some reason."

Danny took this seriously now. First, she ahd a cough, then she sounded a little hoarse. Now, she suddenly feels cold. He, without even thinking, put the back of his hand to her forehead. "Sam, you're burning up!" he exclaimed suddenly.

* * *

E/N: 

--Airamé Phantom


	7. Oh, Sam

A/N: Chapter 7. Wow. Sorry about the whole bot thing sending that chapters Seven and Eight were up when only chapter Six was up. That was my fault. But don't worry, I'll make up for it! I hope I can. I haven't been up-dating my other story because I really want to get this one done. The other one will be a little complicated and I need to make it make sense so, yeah, you get the idea. Anyway, here's the next chapter!

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

**Oh, Sam**

* * *

Sam smiled slightly. "Guess I'm more sick than I thought," she mumbled. Danny looked at her, smiling slightly too. She seemed to be taking this just fine. 

"I'll be right back, again, to see if there's anything I can do to help," he said. Sam nodded feebly. She settled down into the bed, turning onto her back and looking at the ceiling. She didn't notice Danny leave at all. The room was spinning and she could hardly focus on anything.

Danny, meanwhile, tried figuring out all the usual methods he'd seen on TV to bring down a fever. He made his way down the stairs, thinking out loud. "Okay, first there's that water thing, and then there's medicine, but I don't we have anything to bring down a fever...hm...maybe I should get a thermometer while I'm at it," he mumbled to himself. When he got down to the last four steps, he jumped over them, making sure not to make too much noise when he landed.

He made his way into the kitchen and searched around for any type of large bowl. Once he found one, he filled it half-way with semi-cold water and then made his way back up the stairs and into the bathroom. He put the bowl of water on the counter and looked for a small towel inside the medicinal cabinet. He found some towlets and made his way out, grabbing a thermometer on his way. He made his way quietly into the room, making sure to make the less possible amount of noise since Sam seemed to be asleep.

He grabbed his computer chair and set it down in front of the bed. He put the bowl on the floor and dabbed the small towlet in it. Figuring taking Sam's temperature was out of the question, he squeezed the excess water from the towlet so that it would only be damp enough to feel a little cold. Hopefully this didn't wake Sam up. Folding the towlet so that it would only be about an inch wide and about half a foot long, he set it carefully upon Sam's forehead, brushing away her hair slightly.

Sam seemed to flinch slightly at the coldness of the towlet, but didn't wake up. Danny watched ehr closely. She felt very hot and seemed to be having a little difficulty breathing since she was taking rapid, small breaths. Her chest was rising and falling quickly, her mouth slightly open.

He grew more and more worried now. She must be really sick, but surely she would get a little better throughout the night. He would make sure of it. Then in the morning he would call her parents and make sure they weren't too worried about her. He would tell them that he took care of her during the night and... No. Then conclusions would be building in their heads. Way, over-the-top, 'you what?' kind of conclusions. He sighed, leaning back in the chair and crossing his arms.

He looked at Sam. "Sam," he mumbled, so quiet he barely even heard himself. "Sam, why did you take so long to call. You waited for nearly an hour. You should have called sooner. Then you may not be in this situation."

Sam seemed to hear him speaking, or sensed it at least, because she moved slightly, eyes seeming to want to open but staying shut.

"Oh, Sam," Danny whispered again, sighing.

* * *

Morning. 7:50 AM Saturday. FentonWorks. 

Sam awoke suddenly, eyes snapping open, and sitting up quickly. The towlet fell from her forehead into her lap. She looked at it for a second, then the object came into focus. She looked to her right and saw Danny. Her breathing had quickened slightly and her headache was long gone. Her heartbeat had definitely started a race against her thoughts because it was racing so fast she couldn't think straight.

Danny was asleep, arms crossed over his chest, sitting up in the chair and shoulders rising and lowering slightly with each calmed breath he took. Sam couldn't help but watch him as she cleared her head. He, even with the peaceful look on his face, sent a slightly concerned vibe towards her. She looked at the clock on the side-table and noticed the time. Waking him up now might not be a good idea, but she wanted to just hear his voice so bad.

She swung her legs over the bed and sat there, watching him. She sighed. Watching him like this, without having to worry about what to say and how, it felt so good. Ever since he got his powers, she'd been feeling a little strange around him. It's like she wanted to spend every second with him before he would have to go away to fight a ghost. She often got worried when he didn't come back soon. She also knew he was starting to notice the slight change in her.

She'd known that since he'd asked her what was wrong at the amusement park. He might know something was on her mind, but Sam knew he didn't know what. "If you knew," she whispered quietly. "If you knew you probably wouldn't want to be friends anymore. But if only I had the courage to come right out and say it, there's the chance we can become more than friends. I just don't want to risk it..." _This friendship means too much to me to lose it_, she thought.

Danny's eyes seemed to want to open and did, but the slightly dazed expression remained until he blinked a couple of times. His vision was a little blurred from still being sleepy. He stretched, raising both arms into the air and bringing them back down when he yawned. He looked at Sam in front of him, suddenly at a loss for words once his brain caught up with his eyes.

"I...last...yesterday..." he stammered. "Uhm...g**_-_**good morning."

Sam smiled slightly and said, "Good morning." She sighed. "I guess you probably want me to call my parents to come pick me up, right?"

Danny hesitated, but said, "Actually, if you don't want to, you could always stick around."

* * *

E/N: Well, I got one review saying I should put what was on Sam's mind so there it is. I hope you liked this chapter. I know I loved it. Well, later! 

--Airamé Phantom


	8. SleepOver at Fenton's!

A/N: I, personally, believe this is the best chapter yet, but whatever. Anyway, I finally up-dated my other story in case you wanna check it out. Like I said before, it's pretty complicated so I got to check over what I'm putting as their dialogue. Anyway, here's the eighth chapter!

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

**Sleep-Over at Fenton's!**

* * *

Sam looked at him for a second, hesitating. "I think I should call my parents first, though," she said, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear. Danny nodded, standing up. 

"I'll go get the phone," he said, stepping out the room. Sam noted something strange about him this morning. He seemed a little jumpy, apprehensive, and just a bit insecure. She wondered what was wrong. Sighing, she stood, stumbling for a few steps from not having been on her feet for a while.

She walked over to Danny's computer, taking the chair with her and sitting down. She knew she had to contact her parents, but she also wondered where the heck they were. They were supposed to have picked her up, so where were they?

_**FLASH BACK:**_

_Sam and her parents were sitting at the breakfast table, Sam's parents were deep in conversation while Sam watched. "So, Danny, Tucker and I want to go to the amusement park today," Sam said, trying to catch her parents attention. _

_"That's nice, dear," her mom said, waving off anything else Sam would say. Sam frowned. _

_"Right after school," she added. Her mom only nodded. "I need you to pick me up at 8:30, will you?"_

_"Yes, yes, they will," her mom had said. Sam frowned slightly again, but continued eating her breakfast. _

_"Okay, just make sure you don't forget," Sam had told her mother, but was once again waved off. Sighing, Sam had finished her breakfast of cereal and had walked out the kitchen to get to school. _

_**END FLASHBACK**_

Only now did Sam catch that small detail in her mother's statement. She had said 'they' would pick her up. Who was 'they'? The butler? Some person they hired? That explained a lot. They must have been so into their conversation, they hadn't noticed Sam wanted them to pick her up. She just now noticed what their conversation was about. It was about some business trip they'd been planning. Wait a second. The planned date was yesterday. Sam gasped slightly. She'd forgotten all about it! Her parents weren't home because they were on the business trip. They hadn't told anyone to pick her up because they had forgotten and weren't exactly paying attention because of the importance of their conversation that morning. It all made sense.

"Back," Danny said, entering the room again. Sam looked up suddenly.

"Danny, my parents aren't going to be home," she said, standing. Danny walked over to her, leaning against the desk slightly, phone in hand.

"Why?" he asked then.

"The business trip," Sam said. Seeing the confused look on Danny's face made her continue. "They had been planning a business trip since last month on yesterday's date. That's why they weren't home and that's why they forgot all about telling someone to pick me up. The trip was so important, they forgot."

Danny crossed his arms, letting the words sink in. "Oh," he mumbled. "That explains a lot. But then, who were you supposed to stay with while they're gone?"

Sam shrugged. "The butlers, maids, and so on," she said, counting people off with her fingers.

"Think your parents would ever let you stay..." Danny cleared his throat to continue. "Uhm...with...with someone else?"

Sam looked at him, trying to read the slightly embarrassed expression on his face. He was still leaning slightly against the desk, looking at her. "What do you mean 'someone else'?" she replied.

"Well, I mean, since you are here already, I thought..." Danny's voice trailed off. "Uhm...just forget it, you probably don't_**-**_"

"It's cool, Danny," she said quietly. "I could always tell my parents where I am, I mean, the last thing I want is to spend the whole day playing checkers with the butler."

Danny smiled at that. Sam smiled too. "So, I guess you are going to call them?" Danny asked then, handing the phone to Sam. Sam took it in her hand and nodded.

"Better to get it over with now," she said. "You'll probably want to wait outside if they do answer. My mom is going to have an argument if I even mention your name." Danny nodded and stepped out the room while Sam punched in the numbers to her mother's cell phone.

Danny closed the door behind him, leaning against it and sliding down until he was sitting on the floor. "Sleep over at Fenton's," he mumbled to himself, laughing slightly at how gay it sounded when a guy said it. His laugh was cut short at the soft sound of Sam's voice coming from inside the room. He pressed his ear to the door, listening intently to as much as he could hear.

"Hello? Mom? It's me, Sam," he heard her say. "No, I haven't gotten any of your messages." There was a pause. "How many?" Another pause. "Yes, I do have my cell phone with me." Pause. "Okay." There was a pause that was followed by the sound of footsteps from Sam walking around, searching for her cell phone. "Yeah, wait up." There were a few more footsteps. "I think I must have forgotten it somewhere. Don't worry, I'll find it though." Pause. "Talking about that, mom, think maybe I can sleep over at a friend's house for the while you'll be gone?" There was very short pause followed by, "Danny's."

Danny could practically hear Sam wincing at whatever her mom had said to that. He winced himself and expected Sam to explode at whatever her mom was saying.

"No." He heard, the voice sounding very composed. He pressed his ear to the door even more, trying to listen since Sam's voice seemed to get a bit softer. "No." He heard again. "Mom, he's not like that!" He could only imagine what Sam's mom had said to deserve that out-burst. "He_**-**_" Sam was cut short, probably by her mother. "I'm trying to_**-**_" Another pause. He heard the sound of his computer chair being slightly knocked against his computer desk.

"Mom, stop jumping to conclusions!" He heard Sam exclaim, her voice seemingly strained against her anger. "I'm fourteen, I can take care of myself!" Pause. "Ew, no! I don't need to hear about that!" Sam was sounding more and more stressed, Danny could tell. He heard an exasperated sigh and the soft sound of Sam beating on his computer desk with her knuckles. "I just wanted to ask if it was okay with you." Pause. "Yes, I promise." Pause. "Okay, bye."

By this time, Danny was almost sure about what Sam's mom had said. He was sure he knew exactly what that talk was about. By the end of the talk, his cheeks were slightly pink with slight embarrassment towards his thoughts. _No, dirty thoughts, dirty thoughts! _he scolded himself. _Stop thinking!_

He actually did stop thinking. I guess you could say he was 'knocked' back into reality. Sam had opened the door. And since the door opened by pulling it from the inside, Danny fell splat into the room, the first thing in sight being Sam's feet when he opened his eyes. He dared not look up for fear of... UH OH! He looked up! Might I remind you that all Sam's wearing is basically underclothes and the over-sized T-shirt Danny had given her. He quickly scurried backwards, backing up against the opened door, seeing as Sam was too shocked to even move. She shook her head, walking backwards into the room and sitting on Danny's bed. "Oh no, please, please, please, please, please tell me you did not hear any of that!" she exclaimed, looking at the solemn figure sitting on his legs against the opened door.

At the sight of slight guilt in his face, Sam shook her head again. "I am so gonna kill her when she gets home," she mumbled to herself. At the sight of the blush on Sam's cheeks and the seemingly redness of her ears, Danny knew his hunch on the topic of Sam's mother's talk was correct.

"Uhm...if it makes you feel any better, or rather your mom feel better, you could always stay in the guest room, or just sleep in here and I'll_**-**_" Danny started.

"No," Sam interrupted sternly. "Just because my mom said that, I'm gonna make her believe you're not that kind of guy."

"What kind of guy, exactly?" Danny asked. Sam's expression went totally blank at the question. Danny saw her fiddle with the hem of the shirt she was wearing. Seeing her nervousness at the question, he quickly said, "You don't have to answer that, but what do you propose we do?"

The word 'propose' set Sam slightly over the edge. She began to stutter. "W_**-**_well, I was th-thinking maybe, I_**-**_I don't know, sleeping in th_**-**_the same r_**-**_room," she said.

Danny froze.

* * *

E/N: I must admit, I love this chapter! Just wait 'til the next one. Awkward moments everywhere unless I decide against that and end up putting the awkward stuff in the chapter after the next one after this one. 

--Airamé Phantom


	9. Don't Let It Be Soon

A/N: I'm starting to like this fan-fic. It makes me feel all warm inside! Well, I know I just barely posted the last chapter, but I couldn't help but write the next one!

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

**Don't Let It Be Soon**

* * *

"You're...you're serious," Danny said, looking at Sam directly in the eye. Sam nodded confidently. 

"My parents are going to learn that they have you figured all wrong and everything!" Sam said, not quite noticing the nervousness in Danny's voice. She stood. "And if they've got anything to say afterwards, I'll be so mad, I'll_**-**_"

She stopped talking. She sensed an uneasiness in the room. She looked at Danny. He was still sitting down against the opened door, one knee brought up about five inches from his chest. His eyes were slightly clouded with some thought, his gaze only slightly downcast. She blinked. "Danny?" she asked.

"Sam, I don't think that would be a very good idea," Danny said, hand somehow finding it's way to his neck, him rubbing it subconsciously. Sam looked at him, perplexed. "I mean, I don't mind, but what if...what if your parents get the wrong idea?"

"What do you mean 'wrong idea'?" Sam asked, crossing her arms slightly. She thought her plan was full-proof, both types of fools at that. What could possibly go wrong? She took note of the redness of Danny's ears and the slight pink landing on his cheeks. She also took note of his nervous habit: rubbing the back of his neck. What was going through his mind? An image filled her head.

_Don't get a big head, Sam! _she ordered herself. _You know Danny better than that! Right? Right! Right..._

"It's your room, your house, well, your parents' house, but that's not the point," Sam said, nodding slightly. "If you don't want to do it, then fine." The words 'do it' sent Danny into a slight 'must clear throat nervously' fit. Sam's eyes widened at what she'd said. "No, not like that!" she exclaimed, slapping both hands over her mouth.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Danny exclaimed, hoping to not actually make her think he was 'that' type of guy. They stayed quiet for a while longer, Sam letting her hands fall back to her sides and onto her lap. They glanced at each other awkwardly, each thinking their own thoughts.

_I hope he isn't seriously thinking what I think he's thinking, _Sam thought.

_I hate it when this happens. Totally awkward silence! Getting anxious over here, _Danny thought, looking at Sam slightly. She had her gaze downcast, so she didn't know he was looking at her. His gaze fell from her slightly_**-**_unable_**-**_to_**-**_be_**-**_seen face to her shoulders. The shirt, like I've said before, was a little big, even for him, so her shoulders were slightly exposed. He bit his lip. _No! Stop right there! _he scolded and shut his eyes, trying to control the suddenly speeding rate of his heart.

Sam felt his stare, but dared not look up. She dared not look at him. But, of course, she knew she wouldn't be able to stop her eyes from wandering towards him. She looked up only slightly, catching sight of his face. His head was leaned back against the door, him looking as if he was trying to think straight. He was still wearing his pajamas. Plus, the first button was, well, unbuttoned. She couldn't stop her eyes from wandering. His eyes were closed, so there was nothing to fear, right? Right.

Her eyes fell to his neck. His currently exposed collarbones sent her blood into a boil. She looked back down. _At this rate, mom will always hate him! _she thought. She looked back up at him. _Why must you look so adorable?_

The silence progressed until Danny finally got his thoughts in check. Sighing slightly, he looked at Sam. Twenty minutes of silence was not good for your health. Especially if you're a teenage guy named Danny Fenton and a teenage girl named Samantha Manson. Danny cleared his throat, causing Sam to jump slightly. "So," he mumbled, tracing a small design on the floor next to him. He glanced up at her several times, only moving his eyes.

Sam shrugged. "So," she mumbled back. "Danny, so...uhm...what do you say then?"

The question caught Danny off_**-**_guard. "A_**-**_about what?" he asked, eyes shifting nervously.

Sam also cleared her throat quickly. "Well...uh...sharing your room, you know, you prove to my mom you're not some teenage perv?"

_Perv, ha! If only I knew the _**exact**_ meaning of that word, then I'd be able to tell you. But then again, I think I am one from what my stupid head's been making me think. Oh great, Sam's mom does have a reason to hate me! NO! _Danny's thoughts kept rambling on and on. He looked back up at Sam. "I guess it's okay," he mumbled very quietly.

Sam nodded slightly. "You gonna tell your parents, or what?" she asked.

"You're right!" Danny said, suddenly jumping to his feet. "They don't even know you're here! Oh great, I can already see Jazz snickering."

Sam laughed slightly at his rambling. It was as if he was being more like a regular teenager every day that went by without ghosts. But then, thinking that through, he was just like a regular teenager, except, more fun to be around with. She smiled at the thoughts. He wasn't like your average teenager, he was better.

Danny caught sight of the small smile on her face and stopped blathering on about everything that Jazz is going to try to do to him before he complains she's embarrassing him. He blinked. Why was she smiling anyway?

Sam was oblivious to the fact he was watching her. At least until he finally spoke up. "So, you wanna come with to tell my parents?" he asked.

"Sure," Sam said. She was just about to take a step when he stopped her.

"Wait, don't you wanna change first?" he asked.

Sam looked down at herself and nodded. "Yeah, think you can fly me over to my house first? Then you can tell your parents."

"I like that plan," Danny said. "All the while you can tell all the personnel in your house that they won't have to take care of your every need." He added a slight sarcastic tone to his voice for the last remark.

"Ha, ha, you're hilarious, Sir Daniel," Sam said.

"Hey!" Danny said, scowling playfully at the sound of his full name. Sam laughed. She picked up her clothes from the night before and waited for Danny.

Danny had already gone ghost, and quickly walked over and swooped Sam off her feet. "Hey, beautiful, how are ya today?" he asked once he'd phased out the building. He didn't have a problem of saying that to Sam if he thought she thought he was just joking around.

"Why, well, actually, and how has your day been, Sir Daniel?" Sam said, adding her own ingredients to the soup.

"Bloody well," Danny said. They laughed. Danny was flying invisible for fear someone might see Sam with the 'ghost boy' and start making conclusions. The last thing he wanted was for Sam to be included in all the sudden mishaps with the Guys in White and Co. Besides, it was nice to fly with your best friend without having to care whether someone could see you or not since you're invisible. It felt...nice.

It felt good to be with Sam without Tucker being there too. Without having your thoughts totally changed by some ghost's hypnotic music. It felt nice to be holding Sam to close.

Sam, meanwhile, was having similar thoughts. She couldn't quite remember the last time she'd flown so easily with Danny. She couldn't remember the last time she felt this free and untroubled. Everything always seemed this way to her when she was flying with him. It felt nice to be with him without Tucker making some joke about them being 'almost together'. Besides, she was so close to him, she could hear his heartbeat. And, without letting him know so, it felt as if his heart was beating just for her and her alone. It sounded so soothing to her, as if the rhythmic beat would never stop. She hoped it would never stop. Not soon at least. Please don't let it be soon.

She looked up at Danny, him suddenly catching her glance and smiling at her. She smiled back thinly and looked beneath them at all the buildings, smile completely disappearing. Please, don't let it be soon.

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E/N: This was so much fun to write! I hope you guys like it. Just wait until the next chapter! --evil laughter-- 

--Airamé Phantom


	10. Flashback

A/N: I couldn't help myself! MUST UP-DATE!

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**Chapter Ten**

**Flashback**

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Danny finally reached the Manson Mansion and phased through the building and into Sam's room. As always, the curtains were drawn and the room was a little dark even if it was nearly 8:45 in the morning. He was so preoccupied in looking around the room, he didn't notice Sam chuckling quietly. He looked down at her. She waved slightly. "Oh!" he exclaimed, quickly putting her down. "Sorry!" 

Sam laughed and walked over to her closet. "Don't worry about it," she said. She stopped and looked at him. "You know, I'm surprised you know where my room is. I don't even think you've ever been in here."

Danny froze slightly. "Uhm..." he mumbled.

"Kidding," Sam said and continued on her way to her closet. She opened the door slightly and stepped inside, closing the door behind her. Danny walked over to her bed and sat down, still looking around. He couldn't recall anytime being in her room. He doubted he'd ever even been in her house. Just knowing the address was a surprise to him. I guess he knew only because of Tucker. Tucker had a big mouth.

"Hey, Sam," he called.

"Yeah?" she called back.

"Why don't you ever open the curtains?" Danny looked over at the curtains. They were drawn to a close, not a single ray of light entering the room. He was surprised the room even had enough light for him to see a little bit.

He heard the slight sound of a door opening and looked towards the closet. Sam peeked out, only her face visible. "I don't know," she answered. "I know they would be open if my parents were here though." She snuck back into the closet then.

Danny laughed slightly. Sam's parents were the type to want to have total control over your life. He knew his parents weren't like that because they hardly ever even came out of the lab. When they did, they had plenty of unfinished gadgets to keep them company. He sighed at the thought. I guess he had to thank them for being like that. After all, the only reason he met Sam was because they had started building the portal. He remembered it perfectly. After all, he could never forget that moment.

**_FLASHBACK:_**

_"Danny, I think you might want to get out of the house while you have the chance," A seven-year-old Jazz told the little 5-year-old Danny sitting at the table. _

_"Why?" Danny asked. _

_"Mommy, and daddy are searching for someone to help them with the new gadget thing, I don't think it'll be very safe for you," Jazz said. "Go to the park. Take my cellular phone, I'll call you when it's time to come home."_

_Danny took the small phone from Jazz's out-stretched hand and climbed off the chair._

_"Okay, bye, Jazz!" Danny ran out the kitchen and out the door, making sure to take his red sweater. Outside, it wasn't very cold as it had been that morning. He took the sweater off and tied about his waist the way his mom did for him. _

_He took his time walking to the park since he was messing with Jazz's phone. He was so preoccupied, he didn't even notice the girl running towards him. She wore a purple skirt and a black shirt. Her socks were black and reached halfway up to her knees. She wasn't looking where she was going either, she was looking back at someone._

_"Look out!" Danny heard someone exclaim. He stopped, looking up from the phone. He didn't have time to move, nor time to do anything. The little girl ran right into him, knocking them both to the floor. Danny gave a slight yelp of surprise as his body connected with the floor. He winced. _

_The little girl was on top of him, equally surprised. They stared at one another for a long while, each scanning over each other's features. _

_"I'm sorry," she said, brushing back her black hair. She sat up, Danny scooting out from under her and sitting up as well, lenaing back on his elbows. _

_"It's okay, I should have been watching where I was going," he said. It was only then that he saw who the little girl was running away from._

_"Hey, Sam!" called the other boy. He wore khaki colored cargo shorts and a green shirt. _

_"Sam?" Danny asked the girl. She turned back to him and nodded. _

_"Um hm! I'm Sam!" she said happily. _

_"Sam," the other boy called again, catching up. "Are you okay?" Sam nodded towards him._

_"He broke my fall!" she said, pointing at Danny. Danny pushed her hand away. _

_"It's not nice to point, and I'm Danny," he said. Danny could have sworn he saw a little anger on the other boy's face. _

_"I'm Sam and this is Tucker," Sam said, looking at Tucker. They both stood. Danny noticed Tucker was an inch or so taller than him, and both were taller than Sam. _

_"Hi, Tucker," Danny said, holding out a hand to Tucker for a shake. Tucker only looked at him, scanning his face, seeming to stare right through him._

_"Hi," he finally said, but still didn't shake Danny's hand. _

_"Don't worry about him," Sam said quickly. "Hey, you wanna go to the park with us? We were on our way there, but got a little...de...de..."_

_"Detoured," Tucker finished. _

_"Yeah! That," Sam said. _

_"I was on my way there anyway," Danny said. _

_"Cool, come on, guys, race you there"! Sam said and ran off in the direction of the park. Danny chased after her and Tucker stayed behind a little before running after them too._

**_END FLASHBACK_**

Danny laughed slightly at the flashback. He thought of that moment every time he was mad at his parents. It made him remember that if it weren't for them, he would have probably not met and made a great friendship with Sam or Tucker.

"What's so funny?" the voice broke through his thoughtful train. Sam stood there, looking at him curiously. She had on her regular clothes: a skirt, a mid-riff black shirt, and purple leggings, and you can't forget those boots she always wears.

"Just thinking," Danny said, watching as she sat next to him.

"About what?"

"How we met," Danny said. Sam thought for a second and smiled.

"I remember that," she said. "I believe that was the time of our first fake-out make-out, except we hadn't a clue what we doing, right?"

"Hm, I'd forgotten all about that."

"A girl never forgets, Danny," Sam said.

Danny looked at her. 'A girl never forgets, Danny.' The sentence lingered in his mind. The way she said it. It sounded as if she wanted so send another message to him with that sentence. But what was it?

* * *

E/N: I know that's not what Sam and Tucker wear now, but that's the point! Tucker's really serious when he was little, huh? Who can tell me why he's so reluctant to be Danny's friend? 

--Airamé Phantom


	11. You'll Be Seeing Me Again

A/N: I think I finally got myself an actual plot. --evil laugh-- Don't worry, more fluff in the next couple of chapters after this!

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Chapter Eleven

You'll Be Seeing Me Again**

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**

"So, are we going to tell all the people in this place you're not gonna be home or what?" Danny asked then.

"Yeah," Sam said, nodding. "Let's go!"

They stood. They had begun to walk towards the door when Sam stopped Danny. "Aren't you forgetting something?" she asked him.

Danny was slightly puzzled. He wouldn't have even remembered if it weren't for the slight shiver running up his spine, triggering the slight wisp of blue mist to escape his lips. Ghost sense. Sam frowned. He then noticed he was still in his ghost form. He _then_ noticed he had to leave Sam and go catch whatever ghost was finally making their appearance. He looked at her.

"Sam..." he mumbled quietly.

Sam nodded slightly, showing she knew he had to go. She put a hand to his chest and said, "It's alright, go, I'll meet you back at your place."

Danny sighed and started for Sam's window, then stopped. He looked at her slightly. "Sorry," he mumbled quietly and phased through the wall, flying out the building to see who the heck was intruding at such an awful moment.

Sam, meanwhile, had made her way to the window, leaning against the frame to watch Danny go, him disappearing in the distance. She sighed deeply. Another one of those times. Another one of those times when she worried for Danny so. It used to be: "Come on, guys, there's another ghost on the loose we have to catch." But not anymore. Now it was: "Wait here, I'll be back as soon as I capture this ghost." And it worried her. It worried her a lot. Now even more with Valerie around to hate the ghost boy. Now even more with Maddie and Jack going after him too. Even more now that she couldn't be with him during those fights to help when she felt she must.

"Please be okay, Danny," she mumbled quietly. "Be okay because I know I won't be if something should happen, and I know that the only reason I'm not an actual troubled teen is because of you. You're my light in this darkness, Danny. Don't shadow your glow, please..."

* * *

Danny was flying through the sky, scanning around for whoever should be the ghost this time. "Come on, I got a date...uhm..." He stopped. What was he saying? Date? It wasn't a date, not even close. Was he really falling for Sam? She was his best friend, and he knew it. He shook his head. "It will never be," he mumbled. "You know it can't." 

"Can't what, Daniel?" asked the semi-suspicious voice of no one other than Vlad Plasmius. Danny whirled around, one hand coming up automatically, and glowing green, charged with ectoplasmic energy. He relaxed slightly at seeing Vlad. He blinked.

"Vlad, what are you doing here?" he questioned, eyes filled with suspicion and a little bit of fear.

Vlad smirked. "Easy," he said. "One, you're so distracted at the moment, you didn't even notice your ghost sense go off a second time." Vlad circled Danny, him trying to make sure never to take his eyes off the suspicious middle-aged man. "Two, I believe I've acquired enough information to know exactly what to do in order for you to learn that I am the superior person here. Three, what do you suppose I am here for, Daniel?"

"To ruin my life," Danny said, his teeth slightly bared in challenge. Both hands were balled into fists. His green eyes gleamed with anger.

Vlad smirked more. "Ah, you have always been a little slow, haven't you, Daniel?" he said, stopping in front of Danny and looking at him. "It's about time you learned to pay attention to your surroundings."

Danny was about to ask what the heck he was talking about, when someone grabbed him from behind. One arm was wrapped around his throat, while the other twisted his left arm behind his back. Danny winced at the fact he'd let himself fall right into Vlad's trap, for out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of one of Vlad's copies of himself.

"The old copy trick," Danny mumbled. "Always hated you for that." He struggled to get his arm loose from the copy's strong hold, but to no avail. He was surprised that neither Valerie nor some cop had arrived just yet.

"All of this is unknown to all," Vlad said, catching Danny's slightly surprised glance. Danny also thought maybe Vlad had somehow read his mind. But that was impossible, right? "At this moment, everyone is oblivious to all of this because to them, we are invisible."

Danny stopped his struggle, expression completely blank. "What?" he hissed.

"We are held within a type of force field I've recently invented that keeps everyone else from detecting us. Quite useful, really," Vlad explained.

Danny looked at him, wondering why he'd even gone through all of this trouble just to... Wait. Why was he even here again? He hadn't told him exactly what he was here to do yet. He scanned Vlad over, searching for anything he'd missed during the struggle. His hands. They were behind his back. What was he hiding?

"So you noticed," Vlad sneered, looking at Danny. Danny's glance shot back to Vlad's face, eyes fearful. "Yes, in fact, I am concealing something from your view," Vlad confirmed. "And I feel a little bad for doing this, but what must be done, must be done." Vlad pulled out some sort of shot, a clear, blue liquid held inside. "It will take time for it to take effect, but once it does, nothing _too_ noticeable will occur."

He neared Danny, the vaccine in his hand, looking a little intimidating. Danny struggled to get free, but found his powers useless for a reason he did not know of. He watched out of the corner of his eyes as Vlad pierced the needle through his suit and through his skin, injecting the ominous looking fluid into his system. He winced, his heart pounding, sweat rolling down his forehead slightly from nerves, fear, and struggling.

Danny felt limp, losing some feeling in most part of his body. He no longer struggled, and could hardly even keep his head up. He looked at Vlad, who was now in front of him, through a dazed expression, some hair falling in his face. "You're not..." he struggled to get the words out and keeping them from slurring. "You won't get away with this." The words were quiet, uneven, and not in the least bit intimidating.

"I already have," Vlad sneered. Suddenly, his copy merged with the original Vlad, Danny only being caught by the arm. "Say your prayers, Daniel, for you'll be seeing me again."

Vlad then let go of Danny, him falling down to the ground, unable to keep himself in the air. Vlad disappeared in his usual way, leaving Danny to fall to the floor.

Falling. Danny felt all feeling leave him entirely. Suddenly, everything began to grow dark. The last thing he saw was a small piece of the sky, it fading from view as well as the last couple of feet from the floor were covered and he hit the pavement.

**

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E/N: I have no comments towards this chapter except for the fact that Vlad does have a plan. I wasn't really aiming for any seriousness in this fic, but hey, I had an idea! Do not fret, readers, there will be more awkwardness in the next couple of chapters. Though, the reasons for it will contain a bit of seriousness in them as well. DO NOT WORRY! I REPEAT, DO NOT GO TOTALLY INSANE! DO NOT DESTROY YOUR COMPUTER! AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, PLEASE DO NOT COME AFTER ME!

--Airamé Phantom


	12. Vlad

A/N: I couldn't help but up-date. Come on, guys, be happy! Anyway, here goes the next chapter! There is no fluff, unfortunately, because things are getting a little serious. Also, the purpose of that strange shot Vlad gave Danny is explained a little bit indirectly. I think that's what it is. Anyway, on with the chapter!

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Chapter Twelve

Vlad**

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Pacing. White corridors. White clothes on everyone around. Blue clothes every now and then. The smell of latex gloves. The feeling of anxiety. Sounds of crying. Beeps every now and then. Sounds of some people whispering. Uneasiness. Thought.

Sam was pacing back and forth, trying to get together her story. Danny had left to meet her at her house early in the morning. No. That didn't make much sense. Danny went out for a morning jog to get his thoughts together and she met him while she was sitting on her porch? Yes. That makes sense. Then he just left and she didn't know to where. Yes. Perfect sense. She sniffled, wiping her eyes again.

She groaned and took a seat in one of the chairs in the waiting room. She was in the hospital, waiting for news of Danny. Some people had found him lying on the pavement, unconscious and bleeding from a wound on his shoulder-area. She had gotten there a minute or so into the whole mess while people had started to gather and had called an ambulance. He was lucky to have been found or else he could have... She didn't want to say it. She didn't even want to think about it. What's important is that he's not...

Sam sighed, exasperated. Why didn't she insist on going with him? To make sure he was safe. To make sure he didn't get into trouble. Why wasn't she there? Why didn't she help? More importantly, who did this? Why? For what purpose did they try and hurt Danny?

"Sam!" the name broke through her train of thoughts. The familiar voice got her to stand up to greet her friend. Tucker looked rushed, half-asleep, and fully alert.

"Tucker," she said. Her eyes began to swell with more tears. They began to sting again. "Tucker." She slung herself into his arms, crying into his hastily thrown on T-shirt. Tucker held her, not knowing what to do. What to say.

"Sam," he whispered. Once she stopped trembling, he let go, pulling away slightly so he could look at her. She looked miserable, sad, lost, alone. "Where are Mr. and Mrs. Fenton? Jazz?"

"With the doctor," Sam said. "Tucker he's hurt. Tucker, he's still unconscious, they can't get him to wake up, Tucker." Her voice was uneven, her taking short, rapid breaths so she could keep up with her words.

"Sam, it's gonna be okay," Tucker assured her. "He's gonna be okay. I know."

Sam knew he was just trying to make her feel better, but the words felt good to hear. She nodded feebly. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Maddie and Jack, and Jazz walking over. She broke into a run towards them, covering the distance quickly. "So?' she asked, not taking a single second to even think.

"He is going to be okay," Jazz said. "There was no severe damage, and not much blood was lost. But whether or not he'll remember or even wake up soon is still being determined."

"Sam, honey, are you ready to tell us what happened?" Maddie asked softly. Sam nodded.

"Yes," she said. "But I don't think it will be much help." She wiped away her remaining tears and sniffled again as Tucker put an arm around her shoulders. She led the Fentons to sit down and listen to her hastily made-up story. She had to make sure she didn't get herself trapped in the web of lies she'd created to keep Danny's secret. She knew he wouldn't want her to just tell them everything she knew about his powers. He wouldn't like it.**

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**

After nearly twenty minutes of explaining again and again that Sam didn't know much of what happened, the group finally settled down. They were all sitting down in a row on the chairs in the waiting room. Each had on a thoughtful expression, trying to get together their own thoughts. "Mrs. Fenton," Sam said then, breaking the silence.

"Yes," Maddie said quietly.

"Is there any way I can go see Danny, even for just a few minutes?" Sam asked. Maddie looked at her.

"I don't see why not," she said. "But you may want to check in with the nurse." Sam nodded and stood.

"Thank you," she said quietly. Tucker was about to stand, but she put a hand up to stop him. "I'll go," she said. He dared not argue with her for fear that her being unstable might cause some rather unwanted mood-swings.

Sam walked over to the reception area and exchanged a few words with the nurse sitting there. She pointed out Danny's room and Sam thanked her.

Walking down the quiet halls was a little unnerving. Her rubbing her arm nervously set a slight uneasy mood to the place. The smells and whispers were not making things any better.

Sam finally reached her destination: Danny's room. She opened the door quietly, making sure no one else was in the room. Danny laid there, in the bed, arms on top of the white sheets, asleep. She didn't really know whether he was just asleep or unconscious, but she didn't really care just as long as the cardiac-monitor was beeping.

She walked inside the room, closing the door behind her. Quietly, she turned and walked towards Danny's motionless figure. She took a seat at the edge of his bed, looking at him. His chest rose and fell with each calmed, deep breath he took. His clothes had been changed since his shirt was stained with his blood. His jeans had been torn slightly too. Sam would see a little gauze wrapped around his arm from minor wounds inflicted upon them.

"Oh, Danny," she mumbled, looking at him and shaking her head. For some reason it felt as if this were her fault somehow. She shook her head again and quickly wiped her eyes before new tears could form. Sighing deeply, she reached over and ran a trembling hand through his raven black hair. She traced the outline of his lips, his neck, running a finger down to his shoulder. The languid motion seemed to wake Danny.

Sam noticed his fingers curl into a premature fist. She saw his eyes flutter open and his hands relax. His eyes shifted, looking up at the ceiling before he sensed someone else there. He turned slightly, eyes seemingly wanting to close again, but he fought to keep them open. "Sam," he whispered, his voice hoarse.

Sam bit her lip, only managing to nod. He did remember. Which means he could tell her who did this to him. _Looks like the tables have turned_, she thought. _Now it's my turn to take care of you, it seems._

"Oh, Danny," she said. "You had me worried. You're parents are here, and Jazz and Tucker, I should_**-**_" Samw as just about to stand up and go tell his parents, sister, and Tucker that he was awake, but stopped at Danny holding her back by the arm.

"No," his whispered in the same hoarse voice. He cleared his throat, trying to clear his voice. "Sam, I want you here. Don't leave, please, it's not safe."

Was he delusional? She sat back down, his hand sliding down her arm. "What do you mean?" she asked, a little bit concerned for his well-being. Danny looked at her, her noticing his eyes scanning over her face.

"You were crying," he said, his voice no longer as hoarse as before. He ignored her question. _If I tell you, you could be in more danger, _he thought weakly to himself. _If I tell you, you won't want to be near me anymore. I don't want you to leave me alone. Not now._

Sam noticed his eyes glaze over slightly. What was going through his mind? What was he thinking right now? "Danny," she said. "Why would I be in danger?" She skipped right to the point. She wnated to know. She needed to know. If she was in danger, then surely it was from the same person who did this to him. It had to be.

Danny shook his head weakly. He hated seeing her like this, worried and sad. "Danny, I want to help you. You can do that by telling me who did this to you," Sam said, taking Danny's hand in hers. "Trust me, Danny, tell me who did this. Why am I in danger?"

Danny closed his eyes, trying to get his thoughts together. He opened them and looked at the ceiling. But then...the only way to keep her form being so worried would be to tell her, right? He opened his mouth to speak, but winced instead, cringing as the wounds on his arm and shoulder began to sting like mad. The pain didn't spread. For that he was happy, but the wound still stung badly. He was sure he knew who was doing this, too. His teeth clenched. "Vlad," he forced the word out his throat. Sam stood up suddenly. She gasped. "Vlad," Danny forced again, this time more quiet. Vlad.

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E/N: Okay. There was no fluff. I'm a little disappointed at that, but I need to get the message out to Sam somehow. I couldn't just have it all happy with the doctor saying something like, "The whole unconscious thing was just from the impact. You're good to go, Daniel." Then let there be hugging and cheering. No. It had to be in a serious manner. I hope you guys don't hate me. I promsie I'll try and put some fluff in the next chapter. If I can't then in the chapter where Danny finally gets out of this dump. 

--Airamé Phantom


	13. Just Glad You're Okay

A/N: I got some reviews stating they want fluff and some others wondering where the heck I'm going with all this. Everything will be explained as thoroughly as I can but indirectly. That means I'll explain through the story with examples, events, and scenes. I hope that works to extend the plot. I'm so sorry about the seriousness now. I'm gonna try to make-up for the loss of fluff, so don't worry!

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Chapter Thirteen

Just Glad You're Okay**

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Sam looked at Danny, suddenly not knowing what to do. "I'll call the doctor," she said quickly then, more to herself than Danny. He responded anyway. He grabbed on to her hand.

"Sam...no." He made it a command. A statement. Sam felt more tears well in her eyes. She was caught between doing what was best for Danny and doing what he told her to. She dropped her to knees, weeping helplessly, almost silently, as tears poured down her cheeks. One hand grabbed his, her not wanting to let go.

Danny heard her sobs over the strange inner roars ringing in his head. He dared not make a single squeak, only tightened his grip on Sam's hand. He didn't want to hear her cry. He didn't want to make her worry. He didn't want this. Any of this. His inner prayer sent his nerve-endings on fire. The pain began to spread, but he dared not let it. Over his dead body was he going to let it spread. Let it cause Sam more worry. More grief. No.

"No," he forced out his throat. The word was almost silent, Sam didn't even hear it. Danny shut his eyes, concentrating at a subconscious level to try and stop this. Sam stopped crying as she felt Danny's grip tighten only slightly. She felt a sudden heat come from his body. A sudden energy flow. She looked up, looked at him. She blinked, wiping away her tears with her other hand, the one not being held.

Danny focused all his energy, using his ghost powers as a sort of block against whatever was causing this. He knew this was not normal. He knew this 'pain' was everything but normal. He didn't know how, didn't care how, but he suddenly knew what it was. Why it was there. How it got there. Danny felt the pain recede, it living his system alone for now. But he also knew this was the least of his worries.

But for now, he didn't care. He opened his eyes slowly, weakly. Sam looked at him, afraid, happy, confused. She felt a strange mixture of emotions, but the most powerful was the feeling of relief. She wrapped her arms around Danny, knowing from the look in his eyes and the looseness of his grip on her hand, that the pain was gone.

Danny only settled into her hug. She had only seen in his eyes what he'd wanted her to see. Relief. But he'd hidden from her his true feelings. Fear. Sadness. Knowing. He closed his eyes again, whispering in her ear, "I'm tired."

Sam let go, sniffling slightly. "Don't worry," she said. "I promise I'll take care of you. I'll tell the others you woke up and fell back to sleep. Just rest. And, Danny?"

Danny had settled back down, listening to Sam's words, but still not opening his eyes. He turned to her slightly at the sound of his name and half-opened his eyes. Sam hesitated, but found this the perfect moment. She leaned forward quickly, placing a quick kiss on Danny's forehead. She moved away quickly.

Danny looked at her. Surprised. Shocked. Bewildered. "I'll be back later," Sam said quickly, and stood, walking out the room, wiping her tears completely. She left the room and closed the door behind her quietly.

Danny lay there, silent, weak, and not in the mood for anything. He had just closed his eyes to get some sleep, when the room suddenly went dead cold. So cold he could see his own breath, but when he looked at the thermometer at the far left of the room, he saw that the temperature of the room had not been affected. "Ghost sense." The words escaped his lips automatically as he turned back to look at the ceiling. What a bad time for there to be a ghost.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the smoke that usually followed a very arrogant Vlad Plasmius. "I'd of thought you'd get here...sooner," Danny mumbled, turning his head slightly.

"Oh, Daniel, you are in no condition to speak," Vlad said. Danny just noticed, looking at him intently, that Vlad had on the clothes of a doctor. He blinked slowly, looking at what Vlad was holding. A clip-board. Vlad clocked his tongue a few times, shaking his head. "This simply will not do," he said, lifting a few of the pages on the clip-board. "They simply cannot find out."

Danny didn't know what he was talking about, but he was going to find out. He, slowly, propped himself up on his elbows, wincing at the stiffness of his muscles. "What...did you do to me?" he asked, choking on the words as he was still very weak.

Vlad looked at him. "Now, now, Daniel, you're much too weak," he sneered. He was obviously enjoying Danny's vulnerability. He pushed Danny down, Danny wincing at the force. Vlad smirked. "Do not fret, Daniel, you'll be out of here soon," he said, pulling a page out of the clip-board's grip and balling it up. Danny watched as the flimsy paper was incinerated in Vlad's hand. "Now rest, and continue on with your life. It will not change too much."

Danny watched, horrified. What's up with all the riddles? What was Vlad trying to imply? What is he talking about? What's he planning? He saw Vlad disappear and the door open. The real doctor came in. He flashed Danny a seemingly warm smile. Danny only looked at him. Then he saw it. The doctor's eyes flashed red for a split-second. Vlad had over-shadowed him. "Ah, so you're awake," the doctor said.

Behind him were his parents, Jazz, Sam, and Tucker. He glanced back at the doctor, unmoving.

Jazz walked up to him, sitting at the edge of his bed. Maddie came over and hugged him. Danny still didn't move, only looked at Vlad. He was planning on letting him go? What kind of plan was that? But then, if this was still only part of the plan, then what was his full plan?

"Danny, I'm so happy you're okay," Maddie said, letting go of him. Danny nodded feebly. He looked at Sam, hoping she would catch his message. Sam looked at him, smiling fondly. She didn't understand. Danny looked at Tucker, but he was also not getting the message. His last resort would be to speak, but he couldn't do that, not without alerting his parents. He bit his lip, thinking as he looked at Vlad examining the papers on the clip-board as if they were new to him.

"Well, looks like Mr. Daniel Fenton over here is good to go," the doctor said.

"He is? But I thought you guys were going to keep him under surveillance for a day or two," Jazz said.

"No," the doctor said, shaking his head. "You're a lucky man, Daniel, it seems there was no damage except for a few wounds here and there. They should heal with no problem."

"That's great!" Jack bellowed. Danny winced at the loud booming voice of his father. "You can come home, son!"

This was all happening too fast. His suspicions of Vlad grew with each passing minute. This was far too much detail for Vlad to just want to make a small visit.

"Yes, you may go whenever you wish, Daniel," the doctor said, putting away the clip-board. "I'll leave you all to speak amongst yourselves." As Vlad neared the door, Danny following his every movement, he slyly put a finger to his lips and exited the room.

Danny took note of this. It was him. The liquid he injected him with must have been what cause the wounds to burn. But how? Danny's hand subconsciously touched the area of the wounds.

"Would you like to come home now, Danny?" Maddie asked softly.

Danny looked at her, teeth clenched against what he wanted to say. He nodded feebly. Maddie nodded. "We'll be outside," she said and they left the room. Danny sighed. Vlad was up to something, and he was going to find out what.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Danny stood in the room he'd been in, looking around, taking in every detail. The gauze around the wounds on his arms were clearly visible. His hand rested on top of the gauze. He was dressed in his regular clothes. He'd been doing some thinking and he decided that as long as Vlad was in Amity Park, he would do his best to keep away from Sam and Tucker and his family as possible. He wouldn't let them get hurt. Not now. Not ever. 

He heard the door open and Sam step in. "Just came to check in," Sam said, walking over to him. "I talked to your parents and they agreed to letting me stay at your place. Also, they agreed to dropping Tucker you and me at the Nasty Burger to get something to eat."

Danny looked at her. "Sam, I can't go," he said. Sam took a few steps towards him.

"Why not?" she asked, walking up to him until she was only a few inches away from him.

"I can't..." Danny started, but his hand tightened around his wounds to stop himself from speaking. He looked at Sam, scanning over her features. He didn't want to risk them getting hurt. He wasn't going to. "I just can't."

Sam smiled softly. "If you think it's because you want to protect us, then Danny, you are really that clueless," she said. Danny smiled. Clueless. He sighed. "Come on, Danny, we can cut the stay shorter than usual if you want," Sam said then. "I just want to spend some time with you after all this."

"And Tucker," Danny added.

"Right, Tucker'll be there too," Sam said. "How can I forget Tucker." Danny laughed.

"How can you," he said. Sam nudged him gently.

"I'm just glad you're okay," she said, hugging him tightly. "I don't know what'd I do without you." Danny allowed her to continue to embrace him, glad to be so close to her. Glad she was happy again.

Once Sam came into the realization of what she was doing, she let go. "Come on," she repeated and grabbed his hand. _Okay, holding his hand is way worst than hugging him, _she thought. _Oh well._

She pulled him out of the room before he could say anything.

* * *

E/N: I tried adding fluff, but not much awkwardness was present. Next chapter will take place in the Nasty Burger. Lots of fluff will happen then, trust me! 

--Airamé Phantom


	14. Of Course

A/N: Okay, I'm gonna try the fluff things again. Hope this works!

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Chapter Fourteen**

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**

Jack had driven the trio of friends to the Nasty Burger, dropping them and saying Danny had to be home within a few hours. The trio entered the building, joking slightly and walked over to the counter to order their food. _Danny seems a little thoughtful and far away_, Sam noted, eyeing him curiously.

Danny was looking out the window, as if expecting to see somebody. He saw no one though. Sighing he turned to the questioning person at the counter. He ordered the regular: a burger, fries, soda. Tucker ordered the same thing, and Sam ordered almost the same thing except veggie style.

They paid for their food and looked around. The place wasn't too crowded, only about a quarter full, but most tables were taken. "Over there," Tucker said, pointing over to a table near the back.

"Alright," Sam mumbled and they all started over there. Tucker and Danny were talking when Sam suddenly lost her footing. It had felt as if she had tripped, but there was nothing to trip over. Her hands went up into the air, trying to get her balance back together, a small yelp of surprise escaping her throat. Her tray went flying to one side.

Danny took note of everything. As if the whole scene was going in slow motion. He jammed his tray into Tucker's arm automatically and, working quickly, made a half-turn so he'd be a foot or so in front of Sam, slipping his foot in front of her feet. After making sure that she would fall onto him should he fail to keep her up, he slipped an arm about Sam's waist, keeping her up from the floor. All of this occurred in nearly twelve seconds, Sam falling right into Danny, Sam not even able to get her balance back, his arm around her waist, keeping her close.

To make things worst, everyone in the building had turned to see the nearly impossible feat. Also to make things worst, Sam's legs ended up a little bit between Danny's. He was a bit turned to one side, head turned to be able to look at Sam. Sam's arm was slung over his shoulder while the grabbed on tightly to the arm around her waist. Both were breathing quickly, as if the whole thing had taken a lot out of them.

Sam blinked, Danny did so as well. What _did_ just happen? None of it had registered in Danny's mind at all. They stared at each other. Confused. Tucker's snickering brought them back to reality. They turned to look at him, as if just barely noticing they were around other people.

They quickly turned to scan the rest of the restaurant. Everyone was looking at them. They had all turn to see when they'd heard the surprising yelp. Everyone seen exactly what had happened. Sam tripped. Danny gave his tray to Tucker. He stepped in front of her. He caught her. But how he managed to do so when they all saw that he'd been locked in conversation with Tucker was beyond them.

Oh, and just suddenly, out of nowhere, people began to clap! Danny really didn't think this was a type of situation to be clapping. He only caught Sam! Sheesh, people! But they were embarrassed either way. Sam stood up, still clinging on to Danny for dear life. She felt as if she never wanted to let go. She wanted him to be there, to be there to catch her every time she should fall. Metaphorically and literally. _Oh great, he's got you saying clichés to yourself! _Sam thought impatiently.

Her arm was still holding onto to Danny's arm and the other still was around his shoulders. His arm was also still around her waist. Both were so into the clapping they didn't notice each other's presence.

Well, they did, but at a subconscious level.

Soon, the clapping began to die down and Sam and Danny quickly moved to their seats, as if afraid to be caught off-guard like that again. Tucker sat looking at them, snickering and smirking broadly.

"What?" both teen chorused. They did even notice they were talking in sync again.

"You guys haven't even gotten to the part where you let go of each other's hands yet," Tucker explained semi-casually.

Danny and Sam took a second fort he words to sink in. Then, both working as if in an actual chorus, began apologizing as if their lives depended on it. Tucker watched them, sighing deeply, wondering how long it would take them to just shut up and accept their love for each other. He sighed again as he listened.

"I'm really sorry, I don't know what I was thinking."

"No, I should have noticed sooner, it was my fault."

"I didn't mean to hold your hand, just got caught in the moment."

"Yeah...me too." The words escaped Danny throat with a little difficulty. As if he had to think a little bit before each word was said. They dared not look up at each other. Their eyes were kept strictly on the table before them.

They each caught sight, however, of Tucker's smirk.

"I hate you, Tucker," both said at the same time.

Tucker chuckled at them speaking in sync again. "You know you love me," Tucker said. Both teens rolled their eyes. _Wow, they're really thinking alike today, _Tucker noted silently. "Here, Danny," he said, passing the tray of food in front of his friend.

Only then did Sam notice she'd dropped her food. She stood quickly. That would be something to help her keep her mind off Danny.

Danny, of course, also noticed this and stood as well. Sam looked at him as he made his way into the aisle and looked at her. He smiled at her confused look. "I'll do it," he said and walked to the counter. Sam was going to object on his buying her food, but felt her insides turn to mush the minute he smiled. She sat back down and only watched helplessly. Tucker looked at her, then at Danny. He had a feeling today would only get better and better.

* * *

Meanwhile, I guess not even walking to the counter was safe these days. Danny ordered what Sam had earlier, and was waiting for it when a chill ran up and down his spine. He waited but didn't see the blue breath leave his throat. He could have sworn his ghost sense would have gone off. He quickly turned to everyone in the restaurant, eyes scanning over every detail. He knew his ghost sense was going to go off, so why didn't it? 

Danny was about to call it quits when he caught sight of something. Down at the very back of the place, where the light hardly reached, the darkened corner held a hazy silhouette. He watched it with serious, yet curious,eyes. Who the heck was that? And why was he or whatever it was, looking at Sam. Directly at Sam. Why couldn't Tucker see him? He was right there. Danny glanced at Sam's unknowing figure as she talked to Tucker, seemingly annoyed, then back at the figure.

But... But he was gone. He blinked. Had his eyes been playing tricks on him? "Hey, kid!" came the voice of a currently annoyed employee.

"Huh?" Danny questioned, turning back to the counter.

"Here's your food," the person said.

"Oh, thanks," Danny replied, taking the tray and making his way back to the table with Sam and Tucker. His blue eyes kept scanning around, especially near the back, for the culprit. And he had a feeling he knew who he was. Vlad.

"Thanks, Danny," Sam said as he sat down and passed her the tray.

"No problem," Danny replied quickly. He kept his own tray in front of him, looking at it and thinking at the same time. Now Sam knew something was wrong. Before she'd just thought he was a little distant because of the whole falling on your head thing, but no. This had to be something serious. It had to be to keep him this silent.

Danny was so preoccupied with his thoughts, he had noticed he'd been holding the spot of his arm where he'd gotten hurt. Sam did. So did Tucker.

"Danny, what's on your mind? You seem distant." Sam's soft voice penetrated his train of thought.

"Nothing," Danny said, suddenly sighing deeply and looking at his food. He'd already been looking at it, but didn't even notice he was. He picked up a fry, put it in his mouth. "Say, Tuck, you didn't notice anything strange earlier?" he asked then, looking at Tucker dead in the eye. His expression was firm, totally serious. No time for joking Tucker, it said.

"No, why?" Tucker asked. Danny shrugged one shoulder and turned away from them, looking at every angle of the restaurant. Sam put down the fry she'd been eating and looked at Danny. She was certain there was something he wasn't telling them. She glanced at Tucker. He nodded. He knew it too.

"Danny, I'm not in myright to call your words bull, but we think...scratch that, we _know_ you're not telling us something," Sam said. Danny shrugged again, not looking at them still. Sam glanced at Tucker again and turned to Danny fully. "Turning the cold shoulder to us and giving the silent treatment won't change our suspicions," Sam said firmly.

Danny sighed and turned to them. "It's nothing," he said, looking at her in the eye. Sam blinked. He turned again, going back into a state of thought. Sam didn't understand. His eyes...they puzzled her deeply. There was something there she did not quiet comprehend. No. Something was _missing_.

She turned back to her food. He was joyful a while ago, what changed? She knew something was different. She also knew he wasn't telling them. Telling _her_ more like it. Tucker almost never took anything seriously so not telling him was reasonable. But not telling her? He should know she'll always understand. Besides, they were friends, right? Yes. Of course. Best friends.

Sighing, she took her eyes off Danny and looked at her tray. She picked up another fry and plopped it into her mouth. If he didn't want to tell them, then it was for their own good. He would never hide something so important if it wasn't for their own good, right? Of course.

* * *

E/N: I put some fluff, and some seriousness. If I disappointed you, I'm sorry. Please don't come after me! 

--Airamé Phantom


	15. Was He Following them?

A/N: Remember: Critique is always welcome.

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Chapter Fifteen

**Was He Following them?**

* * *

Soon enough, the time to leave came. Danny had finally gotten to eating his food and had finished. But the same could not be said for Sam. She had watched Danny. Wondering what he was hiding. She wondered if he was even conscious of them being there. It seemed his senses were alert to everything. Every time the door would open and someone would enter, he would stop. Look up. Examine the person coming in. Then resume eating. Was he looking for someone? Or was he expecting someone to come in and cause trouble?

When they'd finally decided to leave, Danny was still in a silent mood. He threw away his trash, as did the others, and they made their way out the restaurant. They stood outside for a second, wondering what to do now.

"What do you guys say we head to the park?" Danny's voice seemed to startle the other teens.

"What for?" Tucker asked.

Danny shrugged his shoulders. "Walk around or something," he said. "I don't want to go home yet."

"Sure, we could go there," Sam said.

"Cool, come on," Danny said. The truth behind him wanting to go to the park? It would be a little easier to catch sight of Vlad and face him while Sam and Tucker are kept busy with something else. Plus the woods were very secluded. It was easy to get lost in there. If the need to fight Vlad should present itself, then that would be the perfect place to get 'lost' in.

* * *

But to Danny's surprise, the park was empty. Definitely no distractions to keep Sam and Tucker busy now. 

"Whoa, it's deserted," Tucker mumbled.

"Yeah, almost as if no one were allowed in," Sam added. Danny scanned every detail. Senses alert to anything and everything. Something was definitely wrong here.

"I don't like this, guys," he said softly.

"No kidding," Tucker said. "Let's go see what's up." Sam looked at him incredulously. "What?" Tucker asked.

"Do you like to look for trouble?" Sam asked. "It's obvious something's wrong here. Yet, you want to go check it out!"

"Well, we are supposed to be the good guys around here, what do you expect me to do?" Tucker asked. Sam opened her mouth to say something else, but was quieted down at Danny's hand. Danny had raised his hand slightly towards them. This meant he wanted silence.

Something was wrong. He could feel it. The reason for the park to be empty. The reason for it to be so quiet when he knew for sure that even when empty the park should be filled with rustling sounds like the wind through the trees and stuff. But it was dead silent. As if not even time touched this place.

"What's wrong?" Tucker asked.

"This may be a very played out line, but it's quiet, too quiet," Danny said. Tucker decided now was not the time to joke about that seriously played out line. He remained silent. Expecting Danny to propose a closer examination of the reason for this place to be dead still.

"What do you want to do?" Sam asked quietly.

"Look around, come on, let's go," Danny said, walking forward and entering the park. They'd been standing out in the entrance for a while. Staring into the park.

Now it was time to enter and check things out. See, now this was the weird part. Though they knew they were entering the park, it felt slightly different. As if they'd crossed over to totally different place. The wind finally started blowing, causing the rustling sounds they so fully knew. Also there was short, almost unnoticeable, moment in time in which the area looked distorted, blurry, unreal. It quickly went away though, not leaving a trace of it's blurriness. They kept walking, expecting to have an answer just come to them for the weird happening. This was totally not what they had expected. They expected things to stay quiet. Silent. Eerie. But it's not. Things feel normal now. As if nothing had ever been wrong with it.

Danny turned around and walked backwards a few steps. He could now see, out the entrance of the park, cars passing by. But he couldn't hear them. He turned forward again, still glancing all around. Nothing was wrong. His ghost sense hadn't gone off. He didn't have any bad feelings in the pit of his stomach. There were no shivers running up and down his spine. Nothing.

"Hey, look over there!" Sam said, tugging at Danny's arm. All of them looked up at where Sam was pointing. A figure stood there. Hidden in the shadows.

"Who do you think it is?" Tucker asked then, trying to see the figure more clearly. He was facing away from them. Looking at something in the distance perhaps. Something was in his hand. A type of, amazingly, PDA.

All three teens felt the wind pick up slightly and turned away from the sudden lift of dust into the air. Shielding their eyes. When they turned back to look at the figure, he was gone. Danny had seen that silhouette before. At the Nasty Burger. Was he following them?

"He's gone," he mumbled, pointing out the obvious.

"Really," Sam said sarcastically.

"But we all saw him, right? We know he was there?" Danny asked.

"Yes, Danny, we saw him," Sam said, nodding. "I know we did, right, Tuck?"

"I agree, but how he just disappeared is beyond me," Tucker said.

Danny frowned. How had he managed to just disappear? Unless he was a ghost it wasn't every possible. But he also couldn't be a ghost or else Danny's ghost sense would have gone off. This didn't make sense. There had to be something he was missing. Something important.

"We should probably head home," Sam pointed out then, breaking through Danny's train of thought. "The weather looks threatening."

"Sam's right," Tucker agreed.

"I'll fly us," Danny offered.

"I'm cool with walking, I'll see you guys later!" Tucker said and ran off.

"Bye, Tucker," Danny mumbled. Sam waved. "Well, I guess it's off to my house then." He simultaneously went ghost. The white rings formed around his waist and traveled up and down his body, transforming him into the one and only Danny Phantom.

He flew up a little bit and picked Sam up. "Wonder how much Jazz is going to tease me today," he mumbled as he did so.

"Can't be all bad," Sam laughed. Danny rolled his eyes, signifying it could be that bad. Sam laughed. "You're exaggerating, besides, she has nothing to tease you about."

"Sure," Danny said sarcastically. Sam was looking down at the road as they flew, her watching as it just went by beneath her.

----------------------

Danny reached FentonWorks easy. It wasn't too far from the park and it was easy to get there if you're flying. He dropped Sam off in the front of the building while he flew off into a nearby alleyway and resumed human form.

He walked out of the alley way and walked towards Sam. "Okay," he mumbled, going up the porch and opening the door. "Ladies first," he said, bowing slightly. He was so happy he could still joke around like that. Sam laughed.

"Why thank you," she said and walked in. "Since when did you develop manners?"

"Why, all gentleman must behave mild-mannerly among such lovely women," Danny said.

"Your vocabulary seems to have improved as well," Sam said, playing along with whatever Danny was trying to put lightly.

"Thank you," Danny said, a bright smile on his face as they walked up the stairs. They shared a good laugh as they reached the top step. Then Danny froze. His parents stood, suitcases in hand, walking out their rooms. Maddie had a checklist. Jack had the suitcases.

"Where are you guys going?" Danny asked, alarmed.

"An invitation to a ghost-hunter's convention!" Jack bellowed.

"We received it when we came home this afternoon," Maddie said.

"From who?" Danny asked.

"Anonymous," Maddie replied.

"Oh." The word escaped Danny's throat without much difficulty or even consciousness. It just escaped.

"Danny, take care of your sister and Sam, we'll be back by tomorrow morning," Maddie said, walking past the two teens and down the stairs. Jack followed.

"Hold down the fort, son!" Jack said.

"Will do," Danny said with mock-enthusiasm. This was so not what he'd planned this evening to go.

"Bye, Danny, see you tomorrow morning!" Maddie said. "And, Sam, make sure Danny stays out of trouble."

"I'll make sure of it, Mrs. Fenton," Sam said, saluting playfully and glancing at Danny. He was glaring at his mom a little.

"Good, bye now." The two parents disappeared out the door.

Danny sighed. "Okay, this is turning out to be rather strange," he said. Sam looked at him with a look of confusion. Danny continued. "I mean, first Vlad comes to visit. Then, there's that weird guy at the park. And next my parents get an invitation to ghost-hunter's convention from an anonymous person? How weird is that?"

"I guess it is a little strange, but anything's possible, Danny," Sam said. Danny didn't want to let his guard down, but Sam did have a point. Though he didn't know the chances. The last thing he needed was for Jazz to say she had to split and leave them alone too. Oh great. The other last thing Danny needed was to jinx himself. He shook his head, getting rid of his thoughts and walked over to jazz's bedroom door.

He knocked. "What is it?" Jazz called.

"You don't by nay chance have to go somewhere tonight, right?" Danny asked.

"No, why?"

"Just wondering." Danny backed off from the door and turned to Sam. She stood awkwardly at the top step of the stairs, expecting him to say something.

* * *

E/N: I was told the plot is progressing too fast. What do you guys think? 

--Airamé Phantom


	16. Insult My Gender All You Want!

A/N: Okay, I'm trying my best to keep up with classwork, homework, and projects and up-dating this story and my other two. Plus I started this other fic and...man, I gotta take a breath and stop talking!

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Chapter Sixteen

Insult My Gender All You Want!

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Danny looked at her, then at his bedroom door. He walked over to his door, opened it. "You'll probably want to get set-up, right?" he asked.

Sam walked over and stopped. "You don't seem to feel very comfortable with this idea," she noted.

Danny looked at her for a second and lowered his glance.

"Not entirely," he responded.

Sam smiled. "Don't worry about it," she said. "I'm not going to do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable. Where's the guest room, again?"

Danny sighed with some relief. "Depends, you want the one in the OP Center, or do you want to help me clean out the one across the hall?" he asked.

"We have a few hours," Sam noted. "I'll go with helping you clean out the one across the hall."

"Right this way," Danny said, leading her down the hall. Past his room. Past Jazz's. His parents'. Finally to the door that resided at the end of the hall. Danny reached for the knob. "I can't even remember the last time I was in here," he mumbled as he opened the door.

The inside of the room was plain. There was only a bed in one corner of the room and a dresser on the opposite wall. Some boxes were piled off to one side of the dresser. From where they stood you couldn't tell what was in them though. It looked pretty clean, but everywhere you looked was a little dusty and the smell of mildew would be hard to get rid of. The closet was closed, but you could tell it was empty right away.

Sam walked in in front of Danny. She gazed around the room in awe. "Wow," she mumbled. "I like this room."

"It'll take awhile to clean," Danny said. Sam looked at the floor.

"Doubt it," she said, surveying the room. "We just need to vacuum the place, maybe put new bed sheets and pillows for the bed, and that'll be about it other than dusting."

"And the boxes," Danny reminded her, walking into the room as well. Sam nodded, surveying the room still.

"An hour tops," she said suddenly. "We'd better get to work."

Danny nodded feebly and they both walked out the room to get the necessary supplies. Primarily the vacuum cleaner. Danny found it in the utility closet, as his mom called it. Inside, actually, were a whole bunch of different weapons used to capture ghosts. The only normal thing was indeed the vacuum cleaner. Amazing. The only normal thing was a vacuum cleaner. Not amazing. Sad. Very sad.

They wasted no time in getting started. First they had to clear all the space which meant poking through the boxes to make sure everything got to where it was supposed to be.

"Hey, this box is filled with old clothes," Danny noted. Sam had been poking through another box containing old, pre-made weapons. Probably never got them to work. She looked over at Danny.

"What do you propose we do, play dress-up?" Sam asked sarcastically.

Danny laughed. "No, we're too old for that, besides," Danny said. "Guys don't play dress-up."

"Sure, that's what you want me to think," Sam said. They were both on their knees in order to get a good look inside the boxes and not get tired of bending over. Sam shuffled over to Danny and the clothes-filled box.

"Ha, very funny," Danny said, taking out some of the clothes to ease his curiosity at what else was inside. Sam watched curiously as well.

He stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of something white, a little sparkly, and seemingly-puffy cloth at the bottom of the box. It took up about one-third of the box's volume, actually, and caught Danny and Sam's full attention.

"Whoa," Danny mumbled, pulling out the piece of clothing. It was a dress. It had long sleeves and a long skirt to match it. The design on the chest-section of the dress was embroidered with dozens of tiny crystal-like beads.

"It's a wedding dress," Sam noted quietly. Danny nodded and pulled the dress out completely. "It's nice," Sam added casually. It was indeed semi-expensive from the intricate design of the beads. But it also looked simple. Not so complex. Sam's definite style.

Danny looked at her, not lifting his face all too much. He smiled a little.

"What?" Sam asked.

"Ever wonder what you're going to look like in a wedding dress?" he asked. He didn't know why the question had suddenly popped into his head. He didn't even know why he was asking Sam of all people.

Sam looked at him uncertainly. Danny only smiled and looked at her directly. She couldn't help but smile at his goofy expression. It was one of pure curiosity, playfulness, and, amazingly, some seriousness as well.

"You really want to know?" she asked.

"If curiosity killed the catbut satisfaction brought it back, then maybe yeah," he said. Sam shook her head.

"Then you'd better wait," she said. "Now help me carry this stuff out of here. We've wasted enough time," she said. She didn't let him ask what she'd meant by 'you'dbetter wait' for some reason. And, for once, Danny didn't want to know. Fully, anyway. It's like the song went: If you don't wanna say anything at all, I'm happy wondering.

Danny put the dress carefully folded back into the box and set all the clothes back in. This was definitely going to stay in the room. He didn't know why, but he felt his parents wouldn't want him to move this from here. Besides, he didn't know where to put it anyway.

Sam poked through the box under the other one she'd been inspecting and discovered that one was also filled with technological junk. "Off to the shed?" she asked.

"Off to the shed," Danny agreed. They both stood and each carried one box, Danny telling Sam to take the lighter one. She protested that she was just as strong as he was. But then she decided she wasn't exactly as strong as he was and went on her way.

* * *

After taking all the things down to the shed and only the box filled with clothes remained, it was time to do the other part of their newly found job. "Okay, now to find somewhere to plug this thing in," Sam mumbled, holding the cord of the vacuum cleaner in her hand. Danny scanned the walls of the room for an outlet. 

"There's one," He mumbled, taking the plug from Sam and walking over to the bed. He'd caught sight of an outlet right beneath it. He plugged in the cord and turned to Sam.

"Okie dokie," Sam muttered, pressing the top part of the little switch on the vacuum cleaner. When the roaring sound of it became clear, it startled her slightly. Danny, now sitting on the newly sheeted bed, laughed at her startled expression.

"Afraid of vacuum cleaners, Sam?" he asked. Sam glared at him as she passed the vacuum cleaner over the floor of the room, catching everything in sight or not in sight for that matter.

"Not even," she said, opening the closet and making sure to clean in there too.

That small job took only five minutes. In total, they'd spent nearly two hours doing everything up to this moment. Why? Because when it came to taking the boxes down to the shed, it seemed the shed was full. They ended up having to clean up in there so everything would fit. Good old Jack Fenton is an total pack rat.

It was nearly 3:30 PM already. Not that late, but the day had slipped by so fast, it felt it should be way later already. Danny walked over to where Sam was looping the cord so that it'd be easy to put away and wrapped an arm around her shoulders when she was done and standing up straight. "Wow, two hours but it looks great," he said.

"Too much drama," Sam said, shifting her shoulders so Danny's arm slid off. She smiled and crossed her arms. "But I guess it is a job well done. After all, boys aren't very good at cleaning."

"What's that supposed to mean? We're dirty?" Danny asked. Sam looked away, then turned to look at him.

"I'm just saying," she said. Danny could practically see a smile in her eyes.

"Fine, insult my gender all you want, but if you ask me, this worked up an appetite," Danny said. His hand landed on his stomach.

"You just ate a few hours ago!" Sam said in a little disbelief.

"I guess guys eat more too then," Danny said. Sam smirked and snorted slightly.

"No wonder you're so chubby," she remarked.

"Hey!" Danny said. "For your information, that's muscle."

Sam laughed. They both did. Never in Danny's mind had he thought they would actually be talking like this.

"You're crazy," Sam laughed.

"Maybe, but not as much as you," Danny laughed right back.

"Okay then," Sam said. "Let's go see if guys are bad cooks too!"

* * *

E/N: Sorry it was such a sucky chapter. I didn't like it much myself, but I just couldn't get my other scene into this chapter yet. It's much too early. Anyway, review if you want. Critique is necessary for my health sometimes but if you can avoid it, please do! 

--Airamé Phantom


	17. Sam!

A/N: I was informed the last chapter was a little uneventful. Can't promise anything yet. I don't want to speed. I'm trying to get as much as possible into the next few chapters. But I don't want to speed.

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Chapter Seventeen

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Sam and Danny sat in the room on the floor. A plate was in front of each teenager. Sam's contained a hastily made salad and Danny's a simple sandwich.

"I still think I could have handled this myself," Danny mumbled.

"Yeah right, you nearly cut your finger off!" Sam objected. They were talking about the salad. Danny had tried to cut the vegetables but ended up nearly slicing his finger off. Good thing Sam was there or else he'd be one finger short.

"Did not," Danny protested. "I was perfectly capable of cutting up vegetables."

Sam snorted in a little bit of amusement and sighed. She shook her head.

They ate in silence. There was nothing to say. Nothing to do. Where was a ghost attack when you needed one? Danny sighed. Of course there wouldn't be a ghost attack when you needed one. But then again he didn't very much want one either. He hated the fact of leaving Sam alone for any ghosts to harm her.

Sam observed him carefully. He looked as if lost in thought but yet totally conscious of what was going on around him. His glance was downcast so hair fell over his face a little bit. He looked so cute like that. Almost as if he was just a little boy. She remembered him perfectly, how he used to look. He hadn't changed very much from when he was younger. But his character had. He used to be so care-free. So dim even.

He never got anything Tucker said. I guess it may be because Tucker used to always talk in ways so he wouldn't understand. She'd known Tucker for a very long time. He used to be very protective of her. She remembered that he used to get so mad when he found she'd told Danny something before him. or even when Danny and her would just for some odd reason ended up partners for some project. He even got mad when Danny and her would hang out. But all the years of Danny's trying to make friends with him must have softened him up a bit. Made him a little less wound up.

Sam smiled at the thought of Tucker being jealous of her and Danny's friendship. It'd happened so easily. As if she'd known and trusted Danny for a very long time.

Danny was well aware of her stare, but said nothing about it. He merely looked up at her, only just barely lifting his glance and moving his eyes to meet hers. He said nothing. Did nothing other than wonder why she was smiling like that. She began to chuckled lightly. Danny brought his glance up all the way. He cocked his head to one side and looked at her questioningly.

She looked down and shook her head. She looked at him. She smiled at his expression. "Sorry, I was just thinking about the first time Tucker was genuinely jealous," she laughed.

Danny blinked. He didn't speak for a few seconds. "Jealous?" he asked.

Sam gawked at him playfully. "Don't tell me you don't remember!" she said. Danny shook his head. "It must be the most vivid memory in my mind," she stated. Danny only looked at her. "Want me to remind you?"

"That would be most appreciated," Danny said. Question filled his voice. Sam laughed again and began the story...

_**FLASHBACK:**_

_A seven year old Danny Fenton was playing in the sand-box of his elementary school. He, for some reason, was alone. He yawned. School could get boring sometimes. Looking around, he quickly wiped his hands on the legs of his jeans. He was about to walk off onto the rest of the playground when his ears caught sound of the softest footstep on the sand. _

_He stopped dead in his tracks and quickly spun around just in time to catch a small glimpse of Sam before she pummeled him to the ground. He gave a small yelp of surprise as he fell. _

_"Surp-" Sam started as she had just barely pounced Danny. Her arms were around Danny's shoulders. They fell, their faces colliding. Sam blinked. She felt her lips press against Danny's before she could get the rest of her words out. _

_Danny hit the ground. The semi-kiss continued for just a few more second when Danny sat up abruptly. He wiped his mouth. "Ugh, gross!" he said. "Sam, why'd you do that?"_

_"Sorry, I was just gonna surprise you," Sam said._

_"Don't ever do-" Danny had begun as he wagged his finger at Sam. His eyes, however, wandered past Sam towards the totally surprised Tucker at the opposite edge of the sand-box. He stood with his eyes wide, mouth opened a little bit, totally still. _

_"Tucker!" Sam exclaimed happily. She was still seated in front of Danny on her knees. Danny was just sitting down in the sand, leaning back on his arms. His expression matched Tucker's. _

_Tucker's expression, though, quickly changed. "Why did you do that?" he questioned angrily._

_Danny only watched as Tucker walked over to him and pulled him to his feet by the front of his shirt. _

_"Hey!" Danny shouted, grasping Tucker's hand and pushing it to one side. "Stop that!"_

_"You just kissed Sam!" Tucker shouted at him, pointing at Sam slightly._

_"No, I didn't!" Danny objected. "And stop pointing at her like if she's somehow invisible to me!" Danny crossed his arms over his chest. Something he'd picked up from other kids on the playground and glared at Tucker. His eyes never left Tucker's. Danny was good at that. Staring people in the eye until they felt so uncomfortable they had to leave him alone._

_And it worked. Tucker's glance quickly left Danny's and wandered towards Sam. "Yes you did," he said, glancing back at Danny._

_"Prove it!" Danny challenged. Tucker seemed startled by the sudden out-burst. Danny was usually a little quiet. He never stood up for himself with words. He just stared his opponent down until they felt so small they left him alone._

_Tucker glanced from him to Sam, and back. _

_Sam couldn't take it. Danny was being blamed for something that was her fault. As a matter of fact, she didn't even know why Tucker was so mad. He'd never been so mad and so scared at the same time. _

_She looked at Danny. He looked totally confident. A small smirk was tugging at his lips. He was fighting to keep it back. He'd only ever seen Tucker mad at him. For once in his knowing of Tucker, Danny actually had the upper hand. Tucker gulped. Sam noticed it._

_"Tucker, it really wasn't, Danny," Sam spoke softly. She didn't want this to get any further. "I surprised him and stuff."_

_"But...I saw..." Tucker mumbled._

_"You saw wrong," Danny pointed out. "I didn't want to kiss Sam. Besides, even if I did, I wouldn't do it in front of you!"_

_Tucker glared at Danny but sighed in slight relief. "Fine," he said. It sounded more as if he wanted to stomp his foot and call both Danny and Sam bull. But he didn't. He merely didn't look up and glared daggers at the floor. He hated being wrong, Danny noted. _

**_:END FLASHBACK_**

Both Sam and Danny, now back in the present, were laughing at the memory. "How could I have forgotten that?" Danny laughed.

"I don't know!" Sam exclaimed. They were practically rolling on the floor laughing. Danny was leaning back on his arms, one knees pulled up towards his chest a little bit and the other around and beneath it. Sam was on the floor, on her back, one leg pulled up and her arms out-spread.

"I couldn't believe I actually had the upper-hand on him," Danny laughed, hand on his chest as he felt his heart slow down after so much laughing.

Sam turned to him, moving her head only and then propped herself up on one elbow, turned onto her side. She shrugged. "Tucker was a little over-protective back then," she said.

Danny got a devilish grin on his face. "I bet he liked you, I've always thought so. Well, not since fifth grade, but..." Danny said. He allowed his voice trail off to allow annoyance fill Sam's expression.

"He did not!" she said. Danny laughed, him falling down completely, hands on his chest as if afraid of laughing to death. "Danny!" Sam exclaimed. "Oh, if I had a pillow, or a hammer for that matter, I'd hit you on the head right now!"

"And I'll phase right through," Danny said, still laughing.

"I'll give you something to laugh about," Sam said, getting onto her knees and shuffling towards Danny. Danny didn't have time to do anything. Not even go intangible before he was in Sam's clutches.

"No, Sam!" Danny said, trying to swat her hands away. But she had a hold of him before he could keep evading her attack.

"Still think it's funny?" Sam asked, tickling Danny everywhere she could. She knew everything about his ticklishness. She knew every single tickle spot and how to keep him laughing without stop until his eyes cried.

"Sam!" Danny choked between laughs. "No! Stop!"

"Give up yet?" Sam asked. Danny squirmed and tried to get a hold of Sam's hands, but she was too quick in evading this.

"Not yet"! Danny said. He made a quick grab for Sam's hands and finally met his target. Sam was so astonished by this move she collapsed on top of him. They stared at each other for a long moment. Each was breathless. They blinked.

"Well, this brings back memories," Danny noted, trying to slow his breathing patter and heartbeat. Sam nodded feebly.

"Yeah," she said. "It does."

They both looked towards the door at the sound of it opening. Jazz peeked in.

"Jazz!" they both exclaimed.

"Am I...interrupting something?" Jazz said, hiding a giggle.

Danny and Sam both caught glance of each other and Sam quickly scrambled off of him and sat down on the floor next to him. Danny only propped himself up and leaned back on his arms.

"No, nothing at all," Sam said.

"Uh huh," Jazz said sarcastically. "Well, mom just called she said dad and she might got to the convention place safely and that they may not be back until the day after tomorrow because of something about their plane tickets."

"Oh," Danny muttered. "Did they say anything else?"

"Not really," Jazz said. "Mom said she had to cut the conversation short because of it being long-distance and all. It was a little weird."

Danny nodded and began to sway his leg from one side to the other just barely, thinking.

"Well, I'm sure there's a logical explanation for it," he said.

"There is one for everything," Jazz agreed. "Well, I'll just leave you two to whatever I interrupted, I'll be in my room!"

"Jazz!" Danny gasped at her as she quickly rushed out the room. He glared daggers at the closed door, then looked at Sam. She was gazing at him. He felt the blood rush to his face. _No, no stop! Don't blush! It's just not right! _he pleaded himself. But it was too late Sam looked away, a small blush matching his on her face as well.

Danny half-sighed, half-laughed. A yawn worked its way out his throat. He shook his head an sat up entirely. "That's weird, I'm tired," he noted, hand on his forehead. He was surprised. He wasn't usually tired until way late into the night. Sometimes he didn't even have time for sleep.

"Then go to sleep," Sam said. Danny shook his head. He felt a little light-headed now.

"I guess," he said. He looked out towards the window. It was dark outside already. Must be near at least seven o'clock. Sighing, he stood and collected the half-eaten food and plates. Sam stood as well.

"Oh, I forgot, I left my stuff downstairs," she said suddenly.

"I'll bring it up on my way back to my room," Danny assured her.

"Thanks, Danny," Sam said. "It's just a black duffel bag. I don't have much in it." Danny nodded and started out the room and down the stairs. Walking into the kitchen, he quickly scraped the uneaten food off the plates and into the wastebasket. Then he put the plates in the sink and made his way out. He'd take care of the dishes later. Or Jazz would. Whichever comes first.

Danny walked into the living room and found the duffel bag. To his surprise, it was extraordinarily light. It barely weighed anything. He was tempted to look inside but decided against it for fear of what he may find. Sighing, he took the bag and started up the stairs.

He was only half-way up the stairs, when he heard a scream. He quickly snapped to attention and, without realizing, grasped the banister of the stairs and raced up the remaining steps. He met Jazz on the top step. It wasn't her who screamed so...

"Sam!"

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E/N: Another flashback. I hope you guys liked the flashback. I had one person ask about a flashback with Tucker liking Sam or something? Well, it took me awhile, but there it is! Jealously 101. Please don't hate me! 

--Airamé Phantom


	18. Logic

A/N: I hope you guys like this chapter and that it was worth the cliff hanger. I fell off the cliff a while ago and broke an arm. Good thing it wasn't my typing arm and good thing I only need one arm to type! (In truth, I didn't break my arm.)

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Chapter Sixteen

Logic

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Danny had dropped the duffel bag on his way up the stairs when he'd heard Sam's scream. He hoped she was okay. If she wasn't...well, let's just call it rampage. Thoughts flew through his head. So many he couldn't keep up. Racing towards the door at the end of the hall, not even listening to Jazz's words as they went. Time seemed to move so slow. The door at the far edge of the hall seemed to only get farther from his reach.

"Sam!" he shouted again as he saw the door open and Sam stumble out. He found he'd been much closer than he thought and reached Sam in no time. She, in a tight frenzy, tripped over her feet as she stumbled out the room and fell over. Danny sped into a stop and dropped down next to her.

"Danny," she gasped. "The lights went out and then a shadow...and..." she cried. Speeding through her words. "I didn't know...what to do...who it was...Danny..."

She shook her head. Once. Twice. Danny had his hands on her shoulders, trying to comprehend. Understand.

"Sam? Sam, listen to me," he said. Jazz stood next to them, staring into the darkened room beyond the open door. Danny cupped Sam's chin and lifted her glance until she was looking at him. Her eyes were wide and fearful. Filled with unshed tears. Danny took one look at her and knew she was definitely not hallucinating. Pure horror. That's what he saw. And it broke his heart to see her like that. He took a silent, deep breath and said, "Tell me exactly what happened." He spoke quickly. Not wanting to waste time.

Sam nodded and blinked several times to clear her vision from the tears. "I was waiting for you, sitting down and then I saw something out of the corner of my eyes, then the light bulb just..." she put both hands in the air and waved them around, "exploded and then he was gone...I don't know, it happened too fast, just please don't leave me."

She just leaned forward into Danny, burying her face in his shoulder. Danny put an arm around her. He looked at Jazz. He felt he couldn't do anything but hold Sam until she stopped crying. Stop being afraid. But after all that's happened he doubted it would be easily forgotten. So he said the first thing that came to mind.

"Sam, you were really sick last night, maybe you were just...hallucinating, you know," he said, speaking quietly into Sam's ear, but never once taking his eyes off Jazz. It was as if they were sending small telepathic messages to each other. Then Jazz nodded, understanding what Danny wanted her to do.

"I'll go look for another bulb for the lights," Jazz said quickly. A likely story. Danny nodded towards her and she made her way down the stairs and out of sight. Once he figured Sam had calmed down enough, he gently pulled away and looked at her.

He sighed. "Sam, maybe I should stay with you tonight, for awhile, until you fall asleep," he said.

"But you said_**-**_" Danny cut Sam's words short.

"I don't want you to be alone," he stated. "I don't know what's going on, but I don't want any harm to come to you, or Jazz for that matter. Just for awhile until I make sure you're safe."

How can you argue with that? Sam couldn't help but keep her silence. His gaze was intense. Serious and concerned.He stood, taking her hand and getting her up to her feet. "Come on," he said, his voice rhythmic and soothing. "I don't like seeing you so vulnerable."

Sam smiled. It could only just barely be called a smile. It was more of a slight curve of the lips, but you get the point. She couldn't help but to do so. He was, in a way, just like his father. He always knew just what to do to take a moment like this and make it light. Uneventful. Casual.

She got to her feet along with him. Danny led her back into the room she'd just come out of to see the damage and try to find what had caused it. He tried the light switch. Nothing. The only thing it did was cause the socket in which the bulb was once held to spark from the remaining portion of the bulb still in place. He was careful to not step on any of the tiny pieces of glass on the floor. That way it would be easier to clean up. Good thing bulbs are so small. Else they'd have bigger problems.

The tiny slivers of glass littering the floor caught some reflection of light and reflected it even more on the walls. It cast a rather interesting pattern on the walls. _No one seems to be here anymore, _Danny thought. He never once let Sam's hand go. He didn't even notice it yet. Sam suddenly pulled away, causing him to turn towards her. She was looking at something. Her eyes wide and mouth gaping at something. He followed her gaze and was met with the stunning pattern that was reflected by the light from the tiny pieces of glass.

All the light became, in a way, fused on the wall, forming an image. The image showed the vague silhouette of three. It was jagged, the lines, but it was definitely the figure of a three. Right there. Before them. This was definitely planned. Every little detail: planned. There was only one person who paid attention to such detail. That person was going to pay if this meant trouble for either of them.

Jazz entered the room, saying something. "I found a..." she stopped dead still at the sight of them. The expression on Danny's face is what really got her. Anger. Frustration. Thelook of wanting to hurt somebody so bad. Her gaze landed on his hands. Fists. She followed their hollowed gaze towards the wall. She gasped. A three? What did that mean? She looked towards the tiny fragments of glass on the floor that were catching and reflecting the light. This wasn't normal. It couldn't be. It had no logical explanation. It didn't make sense.

"Danny." The word escaped without her permission. Her brother stirred. Turned to her. Expression still hard and angry. "What does it mean?" she asked. Her voice sounded extraordinarily small. Thin. Fragile.

"I don't know, but if it means trouble, I know who to take it out on." He was perfectly serious. His face was straight. No sound of teasing or kidding in his voice. He was seriously going to hurt someone if this meant trouble. He was going to do everything in his power to stop whoever was planning this out. There just has to be a logical explanation. A coincidence, maybe. Glass didn't shatter in this way and form this type of picture. This was planned. No logic needed. A plan only needed a mind behind the facts. Behind the happenings. Logic played no part in this cruel world of reality. Everything had something to trigger it. A detonator.

* * *

E/N: I've decided: I will no longer believe you hate me. But I have also decided that cliffies will be a normality from now on. Uh...okay, so maybe not too normal, but expect a couple or so. Anywho, thanks for reading! Sometimes reviews are necessary for my health and critique as well. 'Til next time! 

--Airamé Phantom


	19. Right?

A/N: You hate me now, huh? Ah well! I still love you guys. Oh, just to break the news softly to ya, I doubt much fluff will be present. Maybe an awkward moment or some thoughts here and there, but it'll be scattered all around. So sorry for all you SamxDanny lovers out there who were reading this. I give my sincere apologies!

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Chapter Nineteen

Right?

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Danny and Sam had cleaned up the scattered glass, getting rid of the image while Jazz had put up the new light bulb. Jazz and Danny seemed to exchange glances every so often. Unspoken words were being exchanged along with them, and Sam noticed. She said nothing in concern with the matter, though, not wanting them to spill any news she did not want to know.

"Done," Jazz said. "Danny switch on the lights."

Danny did so. The lights went on. Finally. They didn't have to use the light from the hallway to see. Jazz got down from the stool she'd been standing on and looked around the room. "Wow, you guys really cleaned up the place," she noticed.

"It took awhile," Danny mumbled, picking up some of the pieces of glass left. They would pass the vacuum over the spot in a little bit, but he wanted to get as much glass off the floor as possible.

"Danny, you sure it's safe to be picking up that glass with your bare hands?" Jazz asked.

"She has a point," Sam agreed. She hadn't spoken in awhile. But the other teens had paid no mind to her silence and accepted the new voice.

"You guys worry too much," Danny mumbled. "because_** -**_ Ow!" Danny waved his hand around a little bit. A piece of glass, small but noticeable, stuck in the palm of his hand.

"What'd we tell you?" Jazz sighed and walked over.

"You were distracting me," Danny complained. He looked at his hand, wincing slightly. It was just a small sting, he knew, but the sight of it still sent shivers down his spine. He extracted the glass carefully. To his surprise, it was rather bigger than he expected. It was a shard of glass, thin and about as long as a fingernail. It was narrow, Danny also saw, so it poke deep into his palm without him even knowing. He looked at the tiny piece of glass. The tip of it was a little red from his blood.

"Ouch," Sam mumbled, coming over and taking a seat next to him. She looked at his hand. It was a pinprick, she saw, but still a little deep.

"It's okay," Danny assured, pulling his hand away. "It's not even that deep."

"Well, it's getting late, you guys, we'd better get to the sleeping part of today?" Jazz quickly said.

"But the glass..." Danny started, but trailed off as Jazz held up a hand to silence him.

"Will a take a minute or so to clean up, plus the vacuum's already in here," she said. "I'll do it."

* * *

Everything was done quickly. Sam's stuff was brought up at long last and the glass was completely cleaned up. Things got a little bit back to normal, actually, but Danny knew better than to let his guard down. 

Danny now sat in the room, leaning against the wall. He had brought in a sleeping bag to sleep in, but he just didn't feel like sleeping. He'd spent most of his time watching Sam sleep. She'd taken awhile to finally fall asleep, but she finally managed to do so. Danny sighed at the small, soft sound of a knock on the door. He stood and walked over to it. It was half-open, of course, and Danny quickly saw Jazz standing there.

"So?" she asked.

"She's asleep," Danny said, nodding at Jazz as he closed the door behind him.

"Good," Jazz mumbled. "Down, in the lab, the scanner showed that a ghost had been in the building, but the new source of the ecto-signature is long gone, though."

"You sure?"

Jazz nodded. Danny sighed and leaned back against the wall next to the door. "My ghost sense doesn't seem to go off around ghosts anymore," he stated quietly.

"What? Why?" Jazz questioned. Danny shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest and looking at the floor.

"I don't know for sure, but the vial Vlad had must have had something to do with it," he mumbled.

"Vlad? Vial? Danny, what are you talking about?" Jazz questioned. He sighed.

"Vlad was the one who shot me down while ghost fighting. Well, it was him who'd set me off on that goose-chase in the first place. He injected something into me, but I don't know what," Danny said.

Jazz nodded, letting the words sink in. "And you think it's just part of a bigger plan?" she asked. Danny nodded.

"It always is," Danny said.

"But why? Why wouldn't he want you to sense him?"

"Not just that," Danny said. "There haven't been many ghost attacks. I think Vlad has something to do with that too. If he can take away my ghost sense, then he can also do the same with my powers, Jazz. It's only a matter of time before he surprises me with another false, pre-attack."

"He can't take away your powers, Danny," Jazz said. "Taking them away would mean he's separated the ghost gene from your molecules. That isn't as easy at it sounds."

"How do you know?"

"I'm gonna be a brain surgeon, Danny, think more clearly next time you ask that. And if there's anything he can do, is only neutralize your powers for the time being. The effect should wear off soon."

"If you're so smart, can you do something to make the effect wear off now?" Danny questioned.

"Once again, not as easy at it sounds," Jazz stated. "I would need whatever Vlad had used in order to create the antidote, or cure."

"Thanks for sounding smart, Jazz, you truly are the intelligent one." Danny was mad. Jazz understood how he felt. Well, not entirely, but a little bit. He was trying to cover up his anger with sick sarcasm. He'd cool down eventually.

"You're really bad at the whole lying concept," Jazz told him. "I know you're mad."

"Am not, just...annoyed," Danny mumbled. "Oh who am I kidding? Of course I'm mad! Mom and dad are gone, Sam thinks she saw someone, which I'm sure she did, the glass formed a three which has to mean something, my ghost powers are going haywire, and I'm stuck listening to myself rant on about my problems when Sam is clearly the one Vlad is trying to get at for some reason!"

"Sam?" Jazz broke through his self-pity rant.

"Yeah," Danny said. "Don't ask me why or how, but I have the big feeling in the pit of my stomach he's after her this time, probably to get me to join him or something. Sick-minded little_**-**_"

He was cut short, and good thing, at the sound of soft whispering coming from inside the room. He froze. That was definitely not Sam! He spun quickly towards the door, reached for the knob and opened it, going ghost as he went. He caught sight of someone standing over Sam's bed. She was sitting up, looking at the being before her.

"Vlad," Danny hissed angrily.

The figure turned to him. He smirked. "Now, Daniel, I wish not to harm you or Samantha," he said.

"Really," Danny said. "I beg to differ." Jazz watched silently. Sam only sat there, wondering what to do. Vlad had told her he wouldn't harm her. He wouldn't harm Danny. And she'd just have to be quiet because she was vital for his plan. He hadn't gotten to telling her about his plan, however, and she doubted he would have anyway.

"Get away from Sam!" Danny shouted. Vlad smirked a little more. "I said get away from her! I don't want to fight you, Vlad." Danny raised a hand towards Vlad, it turning into a fist, glowing menacingly green. The glow around his fist, however, seemed to warp and flicker, mixing into a different color. But Danny didn't notice, nor did anyone else. It just happened. Vlad only looked at him. Without much more than a second's hesitation, Vlad grabbed Sam's arm.

"Danny!" she screamed, just before Vlad clicked something on a belt he had around his waist. Danny hadn't noticed it. His eyes widened slightly as they blurred then vanished. Sam's voice remained, echoing.

"Sam!" he shouted, rushing to the spot as if thinking Vlad had simply turned invisible. He frozeon the spot. He should have acted quickly and taken Sam when he had the chance. He shouldn't have just stood there. He shouldn't have let him take her without a fight. He should have done something, anything to stop him. But he didn't. He hadn't been thinking straight. His anger had clouded his thoughts. Clouded logical thinking. Clouded his very heart. "Sam." The word was quiet. Soft. Filled with dread and guilt. He'd let him get away.

"Danny, you've got to go find her!" Jazz's voice was the one of reasoning. The only thing that kept him fromgoing on an angry rampage right then and there. His hands turned to fists again. "He's probably taken her back to his lab. He'll be waiting for you there for sure. Come on, Danny, snap out of it!" She now stood in front of him, shaking his shoulders. "Danny, listen," she said. "You've got to go now. The time you're wasting you can't get back! Go!"

Without another word, Danny vanished, phasing through the floor and into the lab. Jazz sighed and quickly rushed down the stairs and to the phone. She dialed up Tucker's phone number. He had to know about this. She had to inform him. He might be of some help should the time need for another person to step up to plate with Danny. Be his reasoning. Keep him in check. Keep his powers in check. If the vial had indeed been made to take away his powers, it wasn't working. Only his ghost sense had been taken. His ghost half remained intact.

Right?

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"You won't get away with this one."

"I believe I already have. A trick up my sleeve, and I already have."

Sam stood in front of the evil voice. The person standing there before her. She smirked. "Yes you have."

"Put up a good act, will you, my dear?"

"Whatever you say, Vlad." Her eyes glowed red. She grinned wickedly. "Whatever you say."

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E/N: Why did anyone tell me I had the chapter numbers mixed up? I noticed I put the title Chapter Sixteen on chapter Eighteen. I feel stupid!

--Airamé Phantom


	20. Trials One, Two, and Three: Prologue

A/N: I had a few people try to guess what happened to Sam. Hehehe, none of you were close!--laughs insanely-- things are just gonna get stranger!

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**Chapter Twenty**

**_Trials One, Two, and Three:_**

**Prologue**

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Danny flew through the Ghost Zone, trying to find Vlad's portal. _Don't worry, Sam, _he thought. _I screwed up once. I won't again._

He continued on, searching for the portal. Once he'd found it, he wasted no time and entered. To his surprise, the lab felt very cold. It was dark. Not to mention the strange feeling of being a very large space. Looks Like Vlad had done some redecorating. "Hello?' he called. He was answered by the sound of his echo and the sound of a strange mechanical-like sound. Kind of like a robot moving around or something. He took a few hesitant steps back away from the sound and found himself backing into what seemed to be something solid. A wall, but not as wide. A sort of column?

He turned towards it and gazed up to the top. Some sort of light shone down. It wasn't too high, but he still couldn't see who or what it was. He walked backwards away from the column. He found that there were three columns, holding up whatever was at the top as a sort of tripod. "What is this," he mumbled. The sound was amplified by the space of the room he was in.

"Danny? Is that you? Get me down from here!" came the startled voice. Danny gasped.

"Sam?" he cried out.

A loud chuckling caught both teens attentions. They tried to pin-point the location of the laugh but it was much too hard with all the echoes. Then, off to the far edge of the place, lights began to turn on. It illuminated the whole area. It only made things even creepier. This place looked like some sort of carnival. Robots, lying dormant, were everywhere in sight. It seemed as if he were in an open area, looking up at the sky. But that wasn't possible, was it? He was pretty sure he'd entered the ghost portal into Vlad's lab, but now he was in the open? But the echoes were bouncing off walls. So he had to be inside somewhere. Thanks to Vlad, this didn't make any sense anymore. It never did, actually, but you get the point.

"Vlad, where are you!" Danny shouted into the air. For some reason, even the wind seemed to pick up. This couldn't be an illusion. It was too real.

"Right here, dear boy," Vlad said. "I am not there exactly, but I can see and hear everything that you are doing and saying."

"Coward," Danny hissed. "Let Sam go!"

"Not until you pass the tests," Vlad said.

"What tests?" Danny questioned.

"Three trials, Daniel, you must pass them all in order to save your friend," Vlad said. "If you shall fail, then she will die and you will have to join me or perish as well. If you should refused to take the trials, then she will die and so on."

"Not if I get to her first," Danny thought, looking up to the top of the columns, where they met.

"Do not play with her life, Daniel, before you even get half-way up there, the electricity will kill her."

Danny took this to heart, looking up at the top. He figured he'd be able to catch sight of Sam if he were far enough, but he had to focus on this trial thing.

"What do I need to do?" he asked quietly.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"What do I need to do, you bastard!" Danny shouted.

"Now, now, Daniel, you wouldn't want me to accidentally kill your friend before you even begin, do you?" Vlad asked. He laughed at Danny's hardened expression. His anger only made him more powerful. Poor child, if he only knew the true story to this. It was not just to test his skill, but for Vlad's own benefit as well. "First, Daniel, you must go through the first test. I call it Robotic Nightmare. All the robots around you are designed to destroy you. You need to find a way to destroy all of them, or risk wasting your precious time searching for the detonator that will send all of them in self-destruct, making you the automatic winner of the round."

"What if I don't make it? And what's this about time?" Danny asked.

"You have exactly three hours for each trial, Daniel, if you should not complete the task by then, the detonator for this round will go off and explode the robots and the surge of electrical power will kill Samantha," Vlad answered simply. "If you should fail to destroy every robot before the time runs out, then the same thing will occur."

"Okay, and the second round?" Danny asked.

"The second round, I believe, is fairly simple," Vlad said. "In this round you must survive an environment filled with unworldly creatures. You will be able to use a few ghost weapons in that round if you like. But if you do use the weapons, your time will be shortened one hour."

"Are the creatures ghosts?" Danny asked.

"Yes, they are."

"The third round?"

"The third round is what decides it all," Vlad said. "That round is a race against the clock. You will be given only thirty minutes to reach the end of the round. It is like a race track, Daniel, with opponents scattering all over the place. Remember, if you are not fully alert, then you may as well kiss your own life and Samantha's good-bye."

"Sounds simple enough," Danny mumbled. "But how do I know I can trust you?"

"From the beginning of each round, you can see Samantha at the top of the tripod. If any harm should come to her should you not fail, then every robot, every creature, every clock will stop and allow you to roam freely with no limitations."

"So if you betray me, then you'll be giving yourself a one-way ticket to your own doom?" Danny asked rhetorically. "Not bad."

"Do you accept the challenges?" Vlad questioned. Danny looked up towards the top of the tripod. He looked forward again, a confident smile on his face, hands turned to fists.

"You better believe it." The words were filled with confidence, self-trust. He was sure he could defeat Vlad at his own game.

"Good," Vlad said. In a split-second, Danny found himself being surrounded by a light, then his form flickered. He appeared again at the far side of the 'playing field.' From there, he could see Sam almost perfectly. She was far-away, of course, but at least he could see her. He was still in the carnival place too. He noticed, also, that Sam was being held in a circle-like contraption. She was tied into place by the wrists and ankles by a certain type of energy source. The source was glowing blue so it was hard to miss.

"Don't worry, Sam, I'm gonna beat Vlad and save you," he said.

"The time will start now," Vlad announced. Out towards Sam, a giant screen lit up. Green numbers flashed at him: 3.00.00. "May the games begin."

The clock began to run and everywhere around him, Danny heard the robots come to life. He smirked, his hands glowing green, but then...

"What the heck?" Danny shouted, his hands flickered off. Their glow disappeared. He looked up around him for an answer.

"Oh I must have forgotten to mention this," Vlad said. "Your powers will soon be gone, Daniel, use your time wisely."

Danny lowered his glance and looked forward. Robots sensed him and were forming a sort of barrier to keep him from going nay further.

"Have fun." That was Vlad's last words until the end of this round.

* * *

E/N: I give you the new prologue. This starts somewhat another story within the story. It's called: Trials One, Two, and Three. I love the number three. 

--Airamé Phantom


	21. Robotic Nightmare

A/N: Wow, finally got this one up! Hope you like it!

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**Chapter Twenty-One**

**_Trials One, Two, and Three:_**

**Robotic Nightmare**

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* * *

**

_"I call it Robotic Nightmare. All the robots around you are designed to destroy you. You need to find a way to destroy all of them, or risk wasting your precious time searching for the detonator that will send all of them in self-destruct, making you the automatic winner of the round."  
"What if I don't make it? And what's this about time?"  
"You have exactly three hours for the trial, Daniel, if you should not complete the task by then, the detonator for this round will go off and explode the robots and the surge of electrical power will kill Samantha. If you should fail to destroy every robot before the time runs out, then the same thing will occur."_

Vlad's explanation rang in Danny's ears and he ran. These robots were built with every ghost weapon he'd ever thought possible. Rays, nets, darts, everything. He kept an eyes out for every single robot he'd encountered and tried to remember which did what. Each robot had one specific trait. Some could run fast. Others could shoot rays from all possible locations. Some stood still until any type of ghost energy came close to it, then it would attack. Others still could locate you quickly.

Danny quickly ran and hid behind a brick wall. There were dozens of brick walls littered about the Robotic Nightmare Trial. They were meant to help him stay away from the robots. Unfortunately, most had already been destroyed. Panting, he looked up at the giant screen. 2.43.23 hours left and counting. The loud bang of a robot shooting a ray at the brick wall startled him. He crouched down, peeking around the side of the brick wall only to be greeted by another blast. He quickly went back into hiding. He slumped against the wall, knees pulled up to his chest slightly.

"There's got to be some way out of this mess," he breathed. He looked around for anything that resembled a detonator. If he could just find it, he wouldn't have to worry about these stupid robots. He suddenly heard another blast against the brick wall and covered his head as small pieces of debris fell from the top of the wall. He looked up. The Jumper Robots were seated there, looking down at him with mechanical red eyes.

Jumper Robots were the smallest type of robots he'd encountered. They had mad skill at chasing after him despite their small size. Also, in advantage to being small and fast, these robots could jump amazing distances.

Danny quickly scrambled to get his feet beneath him and made a run for it. Jumper Robots were hard to defeat. They were made of a type of metal that couldn't be crushed, bent, or anything. Danny had a feeling they could only be melted. But how would be get a fire going in this place?

He quickly ran from the bots following him. They were starting to get a little faster and time was running out. He looked over his shoulder at them. He needed to find a way to lose them, but how? Vlad told him his powers were wearing out. That they would soon be gone just like that. But Jazz told him he could never quite take away his powers, only neutralize them for a certain amount of time. So all he had to do was buy his time. But with the clock running and Sam's life on the line, he couldn't risk it.

Danny rounded a corner and slipped jet fast and jet slick into a tent. Inside it was dark and cold. He could tell the place was pretty big too. Dim light filtered through tiny openings up on the tent's roof canopy, but not enough to get the place illuminated enough for him to see. Looking up, though, he could see the tightrope and a few other circus-like traits. "If I didn't know what was at stake I'd say this place was kind of creepy," he mumbled. He saw the flap of the tent open as some Jumpers casually walked in and scanned around. Danny could see their glowing red eyes in the darkness. It would only take them so log to find him.

He ran towards the long wood beam that held up the tent and was attached to the tightrope. There were two, of course, one at either end of the tightrope and each had some ladder-like pieces of metal attached so you could climb up. It was a risky choice, but it seemed to Danny the Jumpers wouldn't be able to get at him if he was at the top. And from the top he would be able to maybe get himself out of the tent too.

The Jumpers were quicker to find him than he thought though. They were soon on his tail, trying to climb up the ladder behind him. Danny quickened his pace and was soon at the top, facing the tightrope. He looked down as the Jumpers finally began to make their way up. He looked towards the tightrope and braced himself for whatever sudden idea might pop into his head. Glancing back at the jumpers, he did get an idea. Vlad didn't say what powers he didn't have anymore. If he could gather up enough ectoplasmic energy, he may be able to set this rope and the wooden beams on fire with ecto-flames. Crazy but good enough to give him a little hope.

He took one step onto the tightrope. Taking a deep breath, he put his arms out-stretched to give him a little more balance. He dared not look down, merely focused on the other end of the tightrope. _You can do this, Fenton, _he thought to himself.

He heard the moving of gears behind him and knew at once the Jumpers were on his tail already. And moving in quickly. He didn't let it take his focus. It could mean perfect death should he be distracted and fall because there was no net to catch him. His breath caught in his throat as a new weight climbed onto the rope. One of the Jumpers was also walking across! He tried his hardest to quicken his pace to get to the other side and fast!

Two more steps from him sent the Jumper off balance and it fell to the floor, smashing into many pieces from impact. Danny blinked. He'd thought they were indestructible. Yet that one had fallen and got destroyed. Did how they fell and from how far up affect their destruction? He kept going, taking careful steps even while the other Jumper took his fallen companion's place on the rope.

Danny replayed the Jumper's fall in his mind several times as he took more steps across the wobbly rope. It had fallen on it's head. It had shattered then, into different pieces of metal. Surely this was the answer. But he'd have to get to the other side before trying to get these guys to fall.

About ten or ninemore steps 'til he got to the other end and the small platform would keep him up. But just then, the rope began to get a little shaky. Danny tried to keep his balance, but his arms waved too much, sending him even more off balance.

"Ah!" he shouted, completely losing his footing and falling. His eyes widened as he fell. It felt to him as if it were going in slow motion. He saw every detail with perfect frames of movement. The jumpers were holding tightly to the rope, not falling. He on the other hand had slid off to one side. His hand shot out towards the rope, hoping to grab hold.

His fingers caught it just in time. But they were slipping. Danny reached up with his other hand, grasping the rope tightly in his hands. He would have to make his way to the other side of the tightrope like this if he were to survive this one.

Danny hung there for dear life itself. He wouldn't be able to just go on like that, he knew, especially with the Jumper closing in on him. He let go with one hand and grabbed the rope again with it, but on the other side opposite his other hand. Now facing the Jumper, he swung back and forth, slowly at first, to build some momentum. His legs finally reaching the rope and he caught the rope with his ankle. He moved his leg so that his knee was hooked. Okay. So far, so good. The Jumper was still closing in and time was still running out. He had to move quickly.

With his knee hooked to the rope, he brought up one arm and hooked it just the same way except he used his whole arm. Using all his strength, he pulled himself into a right-side up position on the rope. But he wasn't out of the danger zone just yet. He hooked both ankles together and bent his leg at the knee so it would hang down and his ankles would still be on the rope. He couldn't stand back up, but at least he could get to the other side much easier.

He pulled himself to cover the remaining distance on the rope. In his head he could picture the clock running out and Sam being shocked to death. He pushed the thoughts aside. He couldn't afford to doubt himself. This was the exact type of scenario Vlad would have wanted. Him to be so frustrated he would just give up just like that. Well not yet Vlad. Not yet.

Danny finally got the other side, crawling onto the small platform and sitting up and against the wooden beam. He saw that the Jumpers were all on the tightrope now. He scowled at them, trying to catch his breath still. "You guys are going down," he said. He gathered up all the energy he could possibly gather and put his hand on the rope. At once his hand began to glow green, the signs of his powers still being there but lying dormant, waiting for the correct time to show up. The rope erupted into green flames on the spot, the fire traveling all the way to the other beam and going down it. Danny could still get off this beam because it hadn't caught the fire. He smirked wickedly as the Jumpers began to incinerate slightly. They fell to the ground, breaking into many pieces of still flaming metal.

Danny took one last breath and made his way down the beam. Some Jumpers down, still more to go. But he was sure he knew where the detonator was. Her was positive.

* * *

The clock flashed at him again. This time it read 0.48.43 hours left and still running. Danny had destroyed as many robots as possible but it seemed the army would never end. "Quick, Daniel, time is running out and you are nowhere near finishing yet." Vlad's voice echoed through the carnival-like scene. 

Danny destroyed theBeam Robot he'd been fighting. These robots were much bigger than the Jumpers he'd been challenged by before. But luckily they were much easier to defeat. These guys used beams and their long, blade-like arms to fight. But Danny knew that the way to defeat them was by punching deep into their midsection. That's where the 'heart' of the robot was located. Breaking that sent them into self-destruct mode.

He had destroyed, so far, all ten of the Jumpers, all thirty of the Side-liners, which were much like the Beams but more active and had more weapons, and nearly all of the Beams. The Beams were great in numbers though. Not mention they seemed to be able to repair themselves when damaged. Danny had actually been battling against this particular Beam for nearly twenty minutes. The others were easier to defeat though he'd only gotten through ten of them. Their were at least fifty left to go. If those fights when like this one he would surely run out of time. He'd been searching around for the detonator, but couldn't find. He was sure it was hiding from him. Literally.

Danny left behind the debris of the Beam and searched for the detonator again. It kept moving around, trying to hide itself, but he was sure he'd find it soon enough and set it off. Vlad had spoken to him many times, but Danny always refused to speak to him back. It seemed useless since all Vlad did was try to distract him. He was not worth Danny's time let alone Sam's time.

As he rounded a second corner, Danny thought he saw something silver-colored quickly speed around a corner ahead of him. His eyes widened, then a smirk found its way onto his face, curving his lips into a wicked smile. He raced towards the figure. Once he'd caught up, though, he was blocked by another dozen of Beams. Danny sped into a stop and ran the other way. These guys were bad news when they banded together like that. But it only raised his suspicions of the fact that he'd finally caught up to the detonator.

"I don't have time for you guys!" Danny shouted, stopped at a dead end and turning to the Beams. He backed up until he was against the wall. He was going to have to fight. "I seriously don't have time," he mumbled, scanning each robotic face and each detail. To his right were less Beams. If he could destroy enough and send enough into self-destruct mode, then they were set off the others with the vibrations they'd give off. It was a perfect plan, but it needed revising. He was going to have to choose the more powerful Beam from the group and position him between the rest.

His eyes finally landed on the little stand not to far off to his right. Danny would have to destroy two of the Beams to get there, but a new plan was already forming. If fire could set off the Jumpers, then it could do the same to the Beams. It was only logical.

He made a run for it. Just as he had expected, the two Beams to one side formed an obstacle between him at that stand. He thrust both arms back and brought them forward and into the Beams with great force. He was surprised he had the strength to go through gear and metal. The Beams were sent into self-destruct. One other beam that was next to the to exploding ones was caught in the frenzy and exploded as well. Danny smirked a little bit as he reached the stand. He crouched down and yanked one leg off the stand, breaking it into a jagged end and sending the items on the stand cascading down as it fell.

Danny gathered up his energy, which he'd been saving, and the piece of wood lit into flames. "Three, two, one," Danny counted down as the Beams neared him. He through the plank of wood with as much strength as he could towards the most powerful Beam he could see. The plank of wood stuck deep into the Beam's self-destruct section and it exploded, sending Danny flying backwards, him lifting from the ground and being thrown back by the force.

Danny hit hard against another brick wall that hadn't been destroyed just yet. He heard a soft scuttling sound, then the sound of loud beeping. He paid no mind to the scuttling and sent his gaze right up to the source of the loud beeping. "Danny!" Sam screamed. She wasn't too far off so he could hear her voice. "The clock!"

Danny's eyes wandered to the screen above Sam's head. 0.25.2 hours left and counting. He had to find that detonator before the time ran out!

Getting to his feet, he tried to locate the sound of the scuttling above the sound of the numbers on the screen counting down. Time was running out. He had to hurry or else! His eyes wandered frantically towards the source, but couldn't pin-point it. He looked back at the screen. Time was still going. This detonator had to be near him somewhere!

His breathing quickened. His heartbeat sped. His mind was sending thoughts spurring through his head. Next thing you know his vision began to blur with the tears he thought to never shed until the end.

Danny shook his head. _No! Now was not the time to lose control! Think! You saw it just a minute ago! Where?_ he thought to himself. He wiped the tears away with the back of his hand quickly. His green eyes searched through the darkened corners of every tent and stand. His ears focused on the sound andmuted the count down and the sound of his thoughts.

There it was again. A silver blur. This time his eyes caught the image; his ears caught the sound. He threw himself to his right, hoping to catch the silver being. He just barely caught it, grasping one robotic leg in his hand. "Got ya!" he said.

"Danny!" the voice reminded him that time was running. He looked at the clock. The numbers were red and still counting down: 0.9.1. He found his breathing quicken again as he quickly sat up and pulled the small, Jumper-like robot to him. It squirmed and struggled, but he paid it no mind. His senses focused on the buttons on the robots metal surface. They had letters on them. It was a code!

_Okay, what would someone as complicated as Vlad Plasmius think to put as a code? _he asked himself. His eyes flicked from the buttons to the clock. Each time the buttons seemed to become more jumbled. He blinked and took a deep breath. "Here goes everything!" he shouted and pressed in the code.

His eyes shut tight, waiting for the end. But he only got the sound of explosions in response and the sound of the beeping stopping. Beads of sweat had formed on his forehead during this time. Then silence. He slowly opened his eyes. Everything was intact. He quickly went on one knee and looked towards the clock. 0.1.0

He sighed and slumped back down. Danny laid down, arms out-stretched, eyes closed, chest heaving with each struggled breath. He did it. One minute from the end, but the first round was done.

But Round Two would just begin.

* * *

E/N: I hope it wasn't too boring. This took me nearlytwo hoursto think up. I'm exhausted.

--Airamé Phantom


	22. Ghostly Jugnle: Part I

A/N: Finally got this one up too! Hope you like it!

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**Chapter Twenty-One**

**_Trials One, Two, and Three:_**

**Ghostly Jungle: **

**Part I**

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"Good job, Daniel," Vlad's voice echoed as the surrounding area seemed to dematerialize into a large, white room.

This caught Danny's attention, him quickly sitting up and getting to his feet. So this was how he did it. It was all just an illusion. A pretty darn good one too.

"What now?" he asked quietly, looking around the room he was in. He could see Sam, but she was separated into another room, them only having a glass barrier between them. It was just him in this big room.

"The next round, dear boy," Vlad said. "In this round you will have to face many creatures, as I've explained before, in an environment suited for the challenge: a jungle-like surrounding. These creatures are ghosts. The rules for this round are as follows:

"A. You must get every single ghost into a device that is very similar to the Fenton Thermos. B. If you get attacked, then you must fend off the ghouls quickly or else your time will be deducted. C. You have the choice of using weapons. If you choose to do so, then you will lose one hour of your time no matter how much time you have left. You may make the decision any time during the trial. And D. The ghouls can get out of the thermos if you should capture them without weakening them first."

"A lot to remember," Danny mumbled as a new environment began to materialize around him. It was night as well in this surrounding. There were trees, shrubs, bushes, and other vegetation everywhere in sight. Not to mention all the different sounds he heard. They resembled that off crickets, rustling sounds, shuffling, and certain whispers all around him.

"Yes, well, wish you luck, Daniel," Vlad said. The same giant tripod appeared in the distance once again, with the giant screen up over it. The same three numbers glowed and blinked at him: 3.0.0.

He put one hand up only slightly as he expected the 'thermos' to appear. It did just that. It began to materialize out of nowhere into his hand. Once it's formation was complete, it became solid.

"Remember, Daniel, your powers are not intact as they used to be, weapons might be your last resort should you become to weak," Vlad said.

"Forget it!" Danny shouted and quickly began the search. Vlad chuckled and the time began.

* * *

The beginning of the trial was easy. Danny found ways to capture the ghosts without having to fight. But they also seemed to be getting stronger with each catch. And the fuller the thermos, the more difficult it became to capture them. He found hiding places and things to use against the ghosts. Luckily, this was just like the Ghost Zone: ghosts could get hurt with solid objects and they couldn't go intangible. 

It had been only about thirty minutes into the trial, and Danny was feeling a little tired. Some of these ghosts actually put up a big fight. In his hand was the thermos and a branch he'd carefully semi-carved into using it as a weapon. He'd tried before to use his ghost powers, but found his ectoplasmic energy beams, ghost rays, and ghost stinger to be unavailable to him. He couldn't even produce enough energy to create an ecto-fire as he'd done before. Now he could only produce a bit of light for himself in the darkness of the jungle.

Danny leaned against a tree, watching the next ghost he was to capture. This guy was small, almost like the Box Ghost, but he'd seen what he could do. He had control over any solid object including Danny himself. He had to find a way to capture him before he could use his powers against Danny. Taking a deep breath, Danny quickly used every single thing he'd learned before on catching ghosts like this. Except, all he could do was hope they would work since he'd never come across a ghost quite like this guy.

Just then, something hit him from behind, knocking him forward and into the danger zone. The ghost quickly turned to him, angry now. Danny looked at him, then behind him to see who'd hit him. It was another ghost. This one was female. Her hair was cut very short, her bangs falling over her eyes. She was dressed in a type of primitive warrior clothes with a belt going about her waist and diagonally across her torso. Her skirt was a dark brown color and her boots were the same. Her shirt was also the same color. The perfect camouflage in a place as dark as this. She had countless little hand knives she could use to hurt Danny. Worst yet, she was probably one of the strongest Danny had seen and had driven himself to keep away from her.

"Can't sneak up on everyone, ghost," she sneered. She picked one knife from the belt across her torso and held it tightly in her hand. Danny found his way onto his feet and stumbled a step or two. He was definitely trapped. He could also sense another powerful being begin to near them.

The girl seemed to see the fear on his face. She smirked a tiny smile. "Listen," she said. "That other person coming up, he's a friend of Kent and I."

"We've been watching you, Keena and I, but we still have yet to find what you are doing here," the ghost named Kent said. "Who are you?"

"I_**-**_I'mPhantom," Danny said. He didn't want to say his full alias just yet. Besides, the name Phantom seemed perfectly well to him.

"What is your purpose for coming here and capturing these ghosts?" Keena questioned then.

"Vlad sent me into this place because it's one of my trials," Danny said. He didn't get it. "This place actually exists?"

Kent and Keena shared a glance, then both burst into laughter. "Of course it exists!" Keena exclaimed. "This place is located inside a forgotten region of the Ghost Zone. Many get trapped here and most of them are warriors from many different times. Therefore it had been for so long called the Warriors Grave."

"The Warriors Grave," Danny repeated. It rung a small bell, but he didn't care. This place was real. So then the carnival place had been real too. Somehow Vlad had found a way to teleport them into different dimensions with only the snap of his fingers and will. And if this place was in the Ghost Zone, then no wonder the ghosts could get hurt.

"Is something puzzling you still?" Kent asked.

"Vlad sent me here because of my trials, but I'd thought this all some sort of perfect illusion. I thought you were all just ghosts he'd captured and pit against me." Danny was genuinely in conflict with himself. How could Vlad keep an eye and ear out for him if this place were real and far from his portal? Surely he had this all somehow planned.

"What trial?" Keena asked.

"My friend, Sam, was captured and the only way to save her is by passing three trials. This is my second trial so far. I've got three hours to capture every ghost in the area or else she'll die." There was something in his voice that caused Keena to feel a little sorry.

She smiled. "I'll tell you what, Phantom, we may be able to help," she said. Danny's face lit up a little. "We can help you with this round only because you seem to be growing on me for some reason. Otherwise I'd leave you here to fend for yourself."

"I don't know whether to say thanks or not," Danny said sheepishly.

"Just think of it as a favor for bringing a little more adventure to us. This place is so boring, some times. I can't stand it," Keena said. Kent grinned wickedly at her. She scowled. "Stop that, Kent, you know me better."

"Sure," he said. "You're only helping him because you seem to like the guy a little bit too much."

Keena, despite her being a ghost, blushed noticeably. Danny could feel his blood begin to rise to his face as well. A ghost had a crush on him? That was definitely new!

"Forget it," Keena said. She suddenly threw her knife towards Danny. It flew right past his ear, startling him into a frozen state. "Stop right there, Dean," she said. Danny spun around quickly only to find another ghost had arrived. Keena hadn't even been looking in that direction and she still sensed him. Danny was really impressed. Dean, as she called him, was big. He looked muscular and was dressed in warrior clothes as well. Except he had an ax, not a bunch of hand knives. "This boy is our friend," Keena explained to the growling ghost.

"I do not trust him," Dean said.

"You will," Keena snarled, grabbing another knife from her belt. "I am leader here, you obey my orders."

"Leader?" Danny asked, astounded. Keena smiled and winked at him.

"You bet," she said. "This place needs a strong leader, I'm the best for the job, now let's go. We're wasting your time."

* * *

E/N: Okay. So not much fluff anymore huh? Don't worry! I'll make it up in some other way! I promise! Oh, and Ojeda better be reading this! I told you the site already bone-head! It's bad enough you bailed on me for the science fair! Well, bye for now! 

--Airamé Phantom


	23. Ghostly Jungle: Part II

A/N: Hehehe, get ready and brace yourselves! Oh, I almsot forgot!

Disclaimer: Danny, Vlad, Sam, and the Ghost Zone are not mine. Nor are any of the orginals from the show. But I assure you that the Warriors Grave, Dean, Keena, Kent, and every other ghost you've never heard of are mine! Also, the GZN, or Ghost Zone Negatives, is also my creation!

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**Chapter Twenty-Three**

**_Trials One, Two, and Three:_**

**Ghostly Jungle: **

**Part II

* * *

**

One hour had passed almost exactly. And to Danny's great surprise, the giant tripod, Sam, Vlad's voice, and the giant clock-screen were invisible to Keena, Kent, and Dean. Vlad had been talking to Danny, didn't leave him alone. Then Danny got so annoyed he yelled out at him. Keena, Kent, and Dean had stared at him with curious, questioningeyes. Danny even noticed the mistrust erase itself from Dean's eyes. When he'd asked them if they could hear Vlad, they'd shaken their head 'no.'

Danny had had to explain to them everything, cutting their hunting time short. In total, they'd only actually rounded up about thirty ghosts, counting the ones Danny had caught previous to meeting Keena, Kent, and Dean. There weren't way many more ghosts left to catch.Keena, being their leader, did get some ofthem to go willingly. She'd done that to about ten ghosts. The rest they had had to fight and weaken before Danny could capture them.

Right now, they were getting ready to catch another bunch of ghosts. There were about ten of them. They looked sinister, but hadn't proposed much of a challenge from their watching them so far. It seemed they didn't have very keen senses since they haven't even noticed their presence yet.

"First I'll try to get them to go willingly," Keena said. "Kent, if they should propose a fight, then you will make sure to steal their strength, okay?"

"You bet," Kent said.

"And, Dean? You're gonna be the muscle of this one," Keena pointed out. Dean only grunted his reply. "Phantom, keep alert and if you should be asked to fight with no other choice, then do so, just don't drop the thermos."

"I know," Danny said. He'd grown used to Keena's bossy attitude. It wasn't annoying as it was in most people, she was only reminding them of what to do should something go wrong. Someone needed to be in total control when all of their senses were going crazy. Besides, she wasn't so bad once you got used to her.

"Okay, let's go," Keena said. They stepped out from behind their hiding places among the trees into the clearing that held the ten warriors. Each warrior quickly stood from their resting spot and drew their weapons.

"No, stop," one said quickly. "It is Keena."

"Yes, and the traitor ghost who is capturing our friends and foes," another warrior stated.

Keena stood before the rest of the group, Danny standing next to her, arms crossed, eyes scanning each person carefully. Dean hid in the shadows, his face halfly hidden within the shadows. Kent stood next to Keena, opposite Danny.

"He is not a traitor," she stated firmly. "He is merely in need of help."

"So he is capturing our people?" another warrior asked in disbelief.

"He must," Keena insisted. "Another ghost named Vlad Plasmius has trapped him in this region until he has captured every ghost on the Grave. Should he fail to do so within the next hour and a half, then his captive friend shall die."

"We won't go down without a fight, Keena," the first warrior said.

"I am your leader, as you have said before, believe me, you will be let go," she said. "My word of honor is yours."

"How shall he capture us, then?" the second warrior questioned.

"Within a device named the Fenton Thermos," Keena replied. "Its technological value is beyond your knowledge, let us just leave it at the fact it is a sort of containment for ghosts."

"What shall be in it for us?" yet another warrior questioned.

"One less ghost entering this dimension," Kent said.

"We do not know," said one warrior. "All of those who are in favor of this boy, say aye."

"Aye!" said about seven of them.

"Fine then," said the first warrior. "We shall go without a fight."

"Thank you," Danny said solemnly.

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An half-hour later and the whole population had almost been rounded up. The only ghosts left were five of the strongest. Theyweren't like the rest and stayed in their own secluded spot on the Grave. Keena herself had said that she hadn't seen them but only twice in her time being there. And she'd been here a long time. 

At this very moment, only one hour left on the clock, they were rounding up one last turn before coming to the isolated area. It was a clearing, very hard to find but still there. Keena knew this place as dangerous and cautioned them all to take great care with where they stepped, what they said, and how they said it.

"Quiet now," Kent warned as they walked onto the large clearing. "Don't want to alert them too much. A quick blur of black and they found themselves surrounded. It'd happened so fast Danny didn't even notice that it all five ghosts had made their way around them to keep them from leaving. He was quickly in a state of shock, but Dean, Keena, and Kent kept their cool.

"Fear not," Keena said.

"Why are you here?" the obvious leader questioned.

"We come to seek your loyalty to your leader," Keena snarled. She hated the way he'd said that. You could tell straight out no one had ever talked to her in such a manner.

"I am leader here," the figure said.

"Kevin, she is Keena, and the boy, he is the one we've seen capturing all the others," another person said. Kevin was a big ghost. Strong, very strong it seemed. You could tell he had had a lot of practice dealing with ghosts. He also looked like a ruthless leader.

"So, you're the one who is responsible for the decrease in prey," Kevin stated.

"For one, we're not just capturing them because we feel like it," Danny said. Kent nudged him hard in the ribs.

Kevin smirked. "I did not like your tone of voice," he said, walking up to Danny and staring him dead in the eye. To Danny's surprise, Kevin was a few inches taller than him. He didn't look intimidated though, he dared not look scared at all. He was too well aware of what Kevin might do if he saw his looks and voice sent shivers cascading Danny's spine.

"Do not harm him," Keen said. She didn't even turn to talk to Kevin. Kevin was facing Danny who was a step or two behind Keena. This way, him and Keen were standing next to each other, but facing opposite directions.

Kevin looked towards Keena. He hadn't noticed the knife in her hand. But another warrior did. The one who had spoken before.

"Kevin, she's armed!" he quickly said. Keena grinned at Kevin's seemingly shocked-grim expression.

"Afraid of a small fight?" she questioned. She twirled the knife in her hand like a baton twice, then readied it, tightening her grip, the blade glinting a little bit. "A small knife? Harm him, you're gone."

Kevin backed off, nearing his spot in the circle of five warriors, including him in that number. "We are not afraid of a fight," he stated firmly.

"We give you a choice," Kent said, taking over for Keena. "You either go willingly, or not."

"We will not allow ourselves to be captured," the ghost who had spoken before said.

"Silence, Tyrone," Kevin said. The ghost named Tyrone looked at Kevin, but quickly shut his mouth. "We do not accept your offer," Kevin said. He smiled a small smile. Keena didn't like the way his tone had suddenly changed to a sick sweet one. She definitely did not like that smile. A small sound caught her ear, her grip tightened around the handle of her hand knife. "Dean, behind you!" she shouted, suddenly turning around and getting ready to throw her knife.

Dean quickly turned, as did Danny and Kent, but Danny quickly switched his attention back to Keena as a yelp of surprise left her throat. Kevin had looped an arm around her neck, trying to choke her. She dropped her knife, trying to get loose.

"Keena!" Kent exclaimed. Dean was taking care of his opponent quite well. Kent made a complicated hand movement, but his jaw dropped when nothing happened. He tried again nothing.

"Your silly gift will not work here," said one ghost. He walked in a small hunched position, his hair long, ragged and black. He had an angry, maniac-like expression. Kent gasped.

"Tai," he breathed. The ghost named Tai stood at attention.

"Better believe it," he said.

"Phantom, the thermos!" Dean's voice cut through the sudden tension hanging over them. Danny turned, uncapped the thermos, shot out the white/blue vortex of light and captured Dean's fallen opponent.

"No!" Kevin shouted as his warrior disappeared behind the light and Danny capped the thermos once more. "Seize the thermos from him!" he ordered.

Tyrone leapt into action, quickly making his way towards Danny. Danny didn't usually fight in hand-to-hand combat. This was going to be tough!

Keena grasped another knife from her belt and thrust it deep into Kevin's arm. Kevin let go, howling loudly as he removed the knife.

Keena went to assist Danny. "Never fought in hand-to-hand?' she asked as quickly took down Tyrone with a mere hit to the neck area, knocking him unconscious. "Remember, ghost or not, same rules apply to them in the Ghost Zone as to humans in the Real World," she said.

"I'll have to remember that," Danny said, uncapping the thermos and trapping Tyrone. Keena nodded. "Here' take this," she said, handing him one knife. "Now, come, we must..." she trailed off. Kent and Dean were defeating their opponent. Tai was weakening fast, Keena knew. She turned back towards Kevin. Or rather where he used to be.

"We must hurry and capture Tai," she said, pushing Danny towards the finishing battle. He captured Tai, him not standing a chance against both Kent and Dean.

"Where is Kevin?' Dean asked.

"I do not know, but we must find_**-**_" Keena stopped. The guys, standing in front of him, did not know why. She only grasped the area over her heart with both hands, her mouth open just barely. She looked down slowly, her hair covering her eyes.

"Keena?" Kent asked. Keena looked at them gulping with difficulty. She removed her hands, showing the tip of an arrow poking out her shirt. "No, Keena!" Kent shouted, eyes widening. Dean showed no expression. His eyes only widened. Surprisingly,_red_ ectoplasmic blood poured out the wound in small amounts. Keena stumbled back, Kent following her and catching her as she fell down.

Danny's eyes quickly left Keena and Kent and quickly grasped the image of a ghost hiding in shadows with a bow in his hands. "Hey!" he shouted, breaking into a run. Kevin ran as fast as he could, but couldn't escape Danny's gaze. Danny found himself throwing the hand knife Keena had given him at Kevin, hitting him right in the back just as he had hit Keena through the back with that arrow. Kevin turned, taking the knife out his back and letting it fall from his hands.

Danny stood there, breathing quickened, heart racing as Kevin fell against a tree.

He laughed. Kevin was laughing. "She will not survive," he said. "Tell her I shall meet her there." With that said, Kevin suddenly began to dematerialize. No more ghost to capture, Danny fled back to where he'd left Keena, Kent, and Dean. To his surprise, Keena was gone. He quickened his pace and quickly asked, "Where's Keena?"

"Gone," Kent said. He didn't look up. His voice was strained. Trails of wet tears on his cheeks.

"What?" Danny asked.

"She has been teleported to the Negatives," Dean answered. Danny blinked.

"The Negatives?"

Kent stood. "Another dimension for ghosts who have been severely injured in the Ghost Zone get teleported there. Some times they do not make it back, others they appear back into the Ghost Zone with no memory of the happenings." Kent's voice was hollow. Uncaring and emotionless.

"That's what he meant," Danny mumbled. Kent raised one eyebrow. "Kevin, he said he'd meet her there," Danny explained.

"He is gone?" Dean asked. Danny nodded.

"Daniel, remember you are being times," Vlad's voice rang in Danny's ears. He looked towards the clock. 0.27.45. The numbers were orange. They winked and blinked at him. He turned back to Dean and Kent. He bit his lip.

"We have nothing much to say," Kent quickly said, reading his expression carefully. "We know what must happen in order for your friend to live."

"We will go willingly," Dean said. Danny nodded and uncapped the thermos.

"I'm really sorry," he said and pulled them into the thermos, capping it and waiting for the world around him to dematerialize again as it had before.

Keena was gone. She was in the Negatives with a small chance of coming back to the Ghost Zone. But he knew that if she did, she would not remember a soul of what had happened.

Round three would just begin.

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E/N: I once again mis-named the chapters! Chapter Twenty-one was supposed to be Twenty-Two! Come on people, tell me when I do something wrong!

--Airamé Phantom


	24. Race Against Time

A/N: I did not mean to make you guys think I was blaming you for my mistakes. I would never do that. Oh, and I think we have a new reader. I gave the site to a friend. Her name will remain anonymous, but I'll just say that she wants to make this into a movie using her dad's video camera. I'll be helping! YAY! Anyway, on with the chapter!**

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**Chapter Twenty-Four**

**_Trials One, Two, and Three:_**

**Race Against Time**

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Danny stood dejectedly in the big white room again. The thermos vanished from his hand. He looked at his hand. People were always getting hurt because of him. First Sam, now Keena. If he could have taken care of himself with Tyrone, Keena might not have let Kevin get away and would have stopped him.

"The ghosts will be returned to their dimension," Vlad's voice rang.

"You're going to pay for this, Vlad," Danny said angrily, tightening his hand into a fist. He looked around him, as if searching for Vlad.

"Do not be so mad, Daniel, that girl was risking her after-life by helping you. You should not have sought out help," Vlad said. "It was your own fault." Danny's fist tightened even more. His veins popped just barely and his fingers dug deep into his palm. "All three of those ghosts should not have helped you," Vlad said. "_You_ were risking _them_."

"Shut up!" Danny shouted. "Just be quiet! I don't want to hear it!" He felt tears burn behind his eyes, but he forced them back. He would not show weakness in front of Vlad. He would not show that his strength was shortening, his patience thinning with the man. He would show Vlad everything he did not want to see in Danny after all of this. Danny promised himself at the beginning of these trials that he would not give Vlad a reason to mock and destroy him from the inside out. From within his heart and conscious. Weakness was not a choice in the matter. It would not drag him down no matter what.

"Fine," Vlad said. "Then let the last round begin. This is a race against time, Daniel. You must make it from point A to point B in thirty minutes. Point B will be the giant tripod on which your friend is. The time will stop when you press the buzzer located on it. Many of your known enemies will be scattered around the playing field. You must either fight or dodge around them. The choice is yours. And by now, your powers should be useless."

As Vlad spoke, the 'playing field' began to form around Danny. It was simple. It was a road leading straight to the tripod. It was at least two miles, Danny figured, because Sam looked really far away. Around him was some parts forest, other parts barren land. To make things worst still, there were many places for his enemies to hide and surprise him in. He looked towards the giant screen. 30.0. The green numbers stood still and unmoving.

"Your time starts now," Vlad's voice said. The time began to run and so did Danny. The faster and more direct his path, the better. He doubted, also, that many of the ghosts here would propose too much of a problem. Unless Vlad got a hold of Ember, Technus, Skulker, and a few others, he should be fine.

That's where he was wrong. Skulker worked for Vlad. He would most likely be here. And if Skulker was here, then so would creatively placed traps. Danny's pace did not falter, though, he still thought that if he could go fast enough, then his enemies would not be able to react fast enough.

"Not so fast!" came an annoying voice. Danny looked over his shoulder. His eyes widened. "Yes! It is I! Technus! Master of all Technology and mechanical devices!"

"One problem," Danny said, speeding into a stop and turning to him, fingers itching to get his anger out on something. "There's no technology here."

Technus's grin fell. He looked around. "You are correct!" he said.

"Which means?" Danny asked.

"You'll just ignore me?" Technus asked uncertainly.

"Don't even count on it," Danny said. "I've been dying to take my anger out on somebody. So I say, hello misplaced aggression!"

Technus tried to get away, but Danny quickly dragged him back. He only time for a few punches here and there. He was not about to waste time. He knew that if Technus was here, then Skulker would be too. Danny knew Skulker would be a much harder opponent than Technus if he should come across him, but the logical side of his mind seemed to be lying dormant. Inside him, something was growing, consuming him little by little. Gradually building up so he would not noticed the change in thought.

By the time Danny finally grew conscious of what he was doing, Technus was on the ground beat up and weak. Danny blinked. He looked at his fists. That was fast. How had he done that so quickly when it had taken him so long to beat him before? Was it because there was no technology for Technus to draw his power on? There was no other explanation.

"But there is one piece of technology here!" Technus bellowed then. His voice knocked Danny out of thought. He looked at him.

"Oh yeah, where?" Danny asked. Technus smiled wickedly. Danny took this as a sign that he wasn't lying and began to run and fast. It would take Technus a few minutes to get together enough technology to become a problem. By then Danny would be able to at least get half way towards Point B. He would have to or else it would mean definite bad news for Sam and himself.

Danny looked over his shoulder. Technus had disappeared in the distance. He looked up at the giant screen. 19.43. Not much time had been wasted. He could still make it there with a few minutes to spare if he didn't have any more interruptions. He smiled slightly at the thought. He would have enough time and save Sam. But the ghosts, if they should come after him, they would keep him from the finish line. He couldn't waste time. Not anymore.

Keeping his eyes on just the road ahead of him was hard. He kept glancing back over his shoulder and up at the clock, then back. He was nearly there. Just about twenty more yards and he was there. Not a minute too soon either. The clock read 8.21. He glanced over his shoulder again and gasped. Skulker and Technus stood there, confidence in their pose. His heart skipped a beat as they both vanished.

He quickly sped into a stop, seeing as Technus and Skulker had both appeared in front of him. He took a step back, fearing the worst. Maybe he could find a way around them. Time was running out and he didn't have any to spare or waste. Eyes wide, he tried quickly to look for a way out of this, eyes scanning frantically around himself.

"Where are you going, whelp?" Skulker asked as he blocked his only means of escape from the two. Danny stood dead in his tracks and gulped. His mouth was suddenly dry. He looked at the clock. Time seemed to speed up, but it was just his imagination. He caught Sam's expression just barely, her looking worried and trying to see the clock. She knew this was coming. She knew they would gang up on him like that.

"I need to get out of here," Danny mumbled. He tried to run around them again. No use. Technus blocked him. "Not so fast!" he said.

"Please!" Danny shouted. "I need to save Sam! I don't have time!" His heart sped, his thoughts whirled in his head. He suddenly felt nauseated, sick to his stomach. He tried going through them, they only pushed him back as if he were nothing more than a mere rag-doll. He couldn't think straight, couldn't control his anger, his anxiety, fear, and many other emotions that seemed to surface everywhere.

They were toying with him. Working on his nerve. "The earth child will not see another day," Skulker said. Danny grimaced. It had such a bad ring to it, the way he said it. It sounded sick, wrong, _purely evil_. Skulker smirked at Danny's expression. "Before the hunt really begins, however, I believe you may want to watch your friend," he said.

Danny backed up again, trying to get out of their grasp. "No!" he shouted as Technus grabbed his arm.

"Yes, you must watch!" Technus said. "It will be quite the show!"

"Danny!" Sam shouted to him. Skulker held both of Danny's arms behind him, making sure to keep an iron hold on him. The numbers on the clock were red. They blinked and winked at Danny as they counted down.

"Watch, ghost kid," Skulker said. Danny struggled. He could still get to the tripod, stop the horrible tragedy. He could do this, he could! He just needed time to get away from Skulker and Technus!

His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden explosion off to one side. Both ghosts looked away, but Danny was the most surprised one.

"Go, Tucker!" Jazz shouted. They'd come. In the specter speeder, they'd come! Both Jazz and Tucker climbed out of the Specter Speeder, each carrying their own weapon. Tucker pulled out the Fenton ghost Bazooka and fired at Skulker and Technus. They quickly vanished into small mini-portals into the Ghost Zone. Danny felt tears pour down his face. Tears of happiness no doubt. Jazz quickly went to the tripod and pressed the button stopping the time. Danny stood there. He didn't know how Jazz knew how to stop the timer, but he didn't care. Suddenly, Sam appeared beside him.

"You guys came!" he shouted as Sam embraced him. She let go and looked at Jazz and Tucker.

"But how?" she asked.

"It doesn't matter!" Danny shouted before they could answer. He embraced Sam again. Everywhere, the surrounding dematerialized and...

If only that was what really happened. If only Jazz and Tucker had really come and saved Sam. In Danny's mind, he imagined dozens of scenes as the last minutes counted down where Jazz and Tucker appeared with weapons galore to save them. Then Vlad would be defeated. He even imagined that his parents had come because Jazz had no other choice but to drag them out of their ghost hunting convention and tell them his secret to save them. But that's not how things really happened. That's not how things happened in reality. The last second was up. The clock struck down to all three zeroes.

"Danny!" Sam's voice rang out.

"Sam!" Danny shouted, tears pouring down his face. He could not see, he could not rush to her aid. He only felt sadness, grief, and other emotions he couldn't comprehend fill his head. "Sam!" Despite Skulker's grip on his arms, Danny fell to his knees, still crying. He witnessed as the blue light overwhelmed Sam. He heard her painful, never-ending scream as surges of electricity consumed her, it ringing in his ears even after it had stopped.

Skulker let go of him. Danny didn't think it true. He wouldn't believe it. But it was. In his mind he tried to lie to himself that it was all an illusion. That Vlad had lied. That it wasn't Sam. That it wasn't her. But he knew it true. He tried to make himself believe otherwise, but he knew it to be true. To be fact. Sam was gone. And he was to blame. He shouldn't have wasted time on Technus in the first place. It was his fault.

No. The word struck hard at his heart. It wasn't entirely his fault. There was one other person to blame. And he was going to pay. Danny was going to make him pay the same price Sam had to pay for his insolence. It was his fault. He kidnapped her. He put her there. It was his device that killed her.

Danny's shoulders shook. His tears made dark drops on the sandy floor, his fingers making trails on the sand as he balled his hands into half-fists. Without him knowing so, the land around him vanished. He was once again in the giant white room. Once again with the one who killed his best friend in the worst way imagineable.

He sat up and down on his legs, tears still running down his cheeks in wet, warm trails. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop himself from crying, from showing weakness as he had done so before. He couldn't stop his thoughts from telling him to take this out on Vlad, to teach him a lesson. Most of all, he couldn't stop his mind, his conscious, from telling him that he would never be able to tell Sam how he really felt. To tell her how much he cared.

_Tell her he loved her._

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E/N: I tried to make it emotional. But it's hard to find perfect reasons for a guy to cry. Oh, and Axel, if you're reading this, just so you know, I really, really, really, REALLY wanted to make Danny cry! Sorry it took me so long to up-date. This chapter had to be perfect. I am a perfectionist, I know. But not always! Right, Danny? 

Danny: She lies!

--Airamé Phantom


	25. It's Your Fault

A/N: Eh, turns out Ojeda is totally bailing on reading this fic. You guys remember him, right? Mention him earlier in the End Notes. The other person's internet broke down. RIIIIIIIIIIIGHTTTTT! Anyway, one with the chapter!**

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**Chapter Twenty-Five**

**It's You're Fault**

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Danny quickly wiped away the tears from his eyes with the back of his hand. But they wouldn't stop coming. He tried to slow his breathing and get his heart beat into a regular pattern.

"It is okay, Daniel," came the sorry voice. Danny didn't move. His gaze was downcast, not wanting to show Vlad his plan had succeeded. He had taken away his powers and had taken away his best friend.

Danny didn't even make a sound. Vlad neared him, his forlorn figure. He looked so vulnerable and, better yet, so angry and filled with great sadness. He smirked, but kept it from showing up in his voice. "I cannot say it was quick, but I can say it was not your fault," he said. No answer. "Daniel, why don't you come with me. You've been at this for nearly six and a half hours, you must be tired." He put a hand on the boy's shoulder, but felt a shock run up his arm. He yanked it away.

Danny felt something snap within him as he felt Vlad's hand on his shoulder. He felt his insides grow cold, his sub-consciousness take hold of him. "Don't touch me," he said, teeth clenched, fists forming his hands. His voice was cold, ragged, uneven. Even more noticeable yet, his voice had a tone that sent chills spiraling up Vlad's spine. The boy had finally lost it. He only grinned as Danny stood up without so much as a moment's hesitation. He was worn out, Vlad knew, weak and vulnerable. He would not be able to fight if it was for his own life.

Perfect.

Danny turned to him. Vlad gasped. This wasn't part of the plan! Danny had only turned to him so he could see his face, and Vlad was horrified. The boy's eyes were blood red, not green. His hands, balled into fists, seemed to change color, the green becoming overwhelmed by a horrid gray color, then focusing on green again, then glowing black, and so on. The boy had snapped. He was using his ghost powers. But not his entirely. Vlad had read about this many times before. A power that could not entirely be controlled. That the power controlled you. It was unstoppable and could beat anyone.

But he did not know the entire story. All he knew was that it was controlled by emotion and was called upon only by the strongest of beings. It was only called upon by the strongest because then the host would not be able to control it, and it would control him instead, turning the host into its puppet of destruction. If this was really Danny speaking, and not the power, then Danny must be more powerful than he had ever expected.

He heard, from far off, an alert flaring on and on and on that an unknown source of power had entered the lab. And it was taking over and messing up the system of technology. His plan was ruined now. He needed Danny to feel grief and anger only so that he could accumulate all the emotion and turn it into energy and power for himself. Too much power would cause an over-flow and destroy the system.

But that was not his only problem. Danny was advancing towards him without a word. His teeth clenched, fists glowing a warped gray-black color, and his eyes gleaming with hatred. "It's your fault," the boy whispered raggedly. His voice sounded hollow, yet filled with such hatred it burned at Vlad's mind. What had he done? "You hurt Sam!"

Danny brought a fist up and thrust it right to Vlad's gut. Unfortunately for Vlad, he was in human form and was not up to a battle just yet. Vlad was sent hurtling to the opposite wall, knocking against it with a great, loud thud. Danny didn't even seem to notice what he was doing. He just kept advancing towards Vlad.

Vlad looked up, wincing from the pain of the punch. Danny had grown impossibly strong. And he didn't even seem to notice this change at all. "You killed her," Danny continued. He reached Vlad, pulled him up to his feet. He pulled him up even higher until he was off the ground an inch or so. "And you didn't even feel a thing," Danny accused. "You cold-hearted bastard!" Danny threw him to one side again, Vlad hitting against a wall. He was throwing Vlad around like a rag-doll. It didn't seem to him an effort whatsoever.

"Daniel, listen to me!" Vlad insisted.

"The way you listened to me?" Danny asked. "When I told you to let Sam go? The way you _always_ listened to _me_ when I said I never wanted any problems? No, Vlad, this is your fault! It was your fault what happened to Sam!" Danny towered over Vlad, who was on the floor against the wall. He stood there, glaring angrily at him. "And now, you're gonna pay!"

Danny leaned forward and grabbed hold of Vlad's suit jacket. Stupid, why did he always wear a suit? He pulled him up to his feet. "So, how does it feel to be powerless?" Danny asked. "To know you're playing right into your opponent's hand?"

Danny knocked him forward. Vlad looked so weak now, drained. "To feel like you can't do anything, to feel like you're so innocuous, it only amuses your enemy?"

Vlad hit against the wall, but kept on his feet. "Daniel, look at _yourself_," he said, then watched as the boy stalled in his steps. "You are letting this entity control your thoughts."

Danny glared at him still. He didn't understand. He noticed that he didn't understand most of what he was saying himself. _Lies, _the voice mumbled in his head. _You're perfectly capable of taking him out, do so!_

Danny's eyes still glowed red. His hands glowed a more menacingly. He backed up, away from Vlad.

"Daniel?" Vlad asked, wondering what was going on this time. Danny only grinned evilly as he brought both hands up, palms facing Vlad. Vlad's eyes widened. Danny's eyes, something about them told him he was not himself. This was no the Danny Fenton/Phantom he'd grown to know. This guy was pure evil and uncaring, knowing only the pain in others. It had taken control. "Daniel, stop! Its taking control of you! Stop it now!"

Danny couldn't hear him. He couldn't see, couldn't understand. His thoughts were more jumbled than ever before. His vision was hazy, and the words coming out of his own mouth were incomprehensible. He didn't even know any of what he was doing.

Vlad saw Danny pause, but not for long. The waves of power radiating from the boy were nearly suffocating him. But what came next was both awe-inspiring and frightening. Danny's hands glowed the same warped black/gray color, but this time was different. Danny shot at him a black-gray beam very much like a ghost ray but it was continuous and hit its mark directly. Vlad howled out in pain as the ray hit. It was draining his power, making him weaker. Killing him.

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E/N: I know. Compared to my other chapters this was short. But I needed it to once again be perfectly reasonable and comprehensible. I can't have chapters rolling around that aren't even intelligible! Even with all the practice from my role play, I still couldn't get the power to work the way I wanted. Darn everything except for reviewers! and Axel. --grin-- Hope you liked it. Oh, and this power is mine too, my creation. You can't steal else I'll come after you! 

Hehehehehe, I feel really stupid now! Okay, ignore the last part up there about the power. Axel owns the power too. She came up with the whole consume you thing. But I put it a little different because it's not exactly consuming him as it did Fairplay in our role play. It's pretty different. Plus the story about it is different too. I need to stick to what I'm actually supposed to say. Now where was I... And so I won't blather on about something not even I can make sense out of, Axel owns some of the power. So there. I came up with the foundation, we exploited it in the role play. Anyway, until next time.

--Airamé Phantom


	26. Danny, Stop!

A/N: Haven't up-dated in a little while. You're welcome!**

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**Chapter Twenty-Six**

**Danny, Stop!**

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Someone watched, horrified, as Danny shot at Vlad. "Got to stop him somehow!" she hissed, looking at the screen. Her amethyst eyes scanned over the control panel containing buttons, switches, and other things. She bit her lip. Where's the microphone Vlad used to talk to Danny? She glanced at the screen again.

She was much too far away from the control panel to even get the microphone even if she could see it. She would have to get the rope bindings off of her wrists and ankles somehow and quickly. Looking at the rope around her ankles, she wondered. If she could somehow reach one of the random weapons in Vlad's lab, she could burn through the rope if not hurt herself while doing so. It was a pretty flaw-full plan, but it would have to do.

She squirmed and swiveled around and onto her knees. So far, so good. Shuffling over to a counter top that was crowded with a few ray-guns and net-guns, she set her chin onto the top and tried to pull herself into a standing position. Mission accomplished! She grinned as she realized all the ballet and gymnastic classes her mom had signed her up for had actually paid off. She would have to remember to thank her mom for that once she got herself and Danny out of this. Now to find out which weapon would do the trick.

Grabbing the nearest thing she could with her hands - which were tied behind her - she blindly pulled the trigger on it, aiming for the rope around her ankles. Silently, she prayed the tiny ray would hit its mark. She winced as it just barely grazed her leg and ripped through the purple leggings. _Okay! Bad idea! Ow! _she thought and just looked around, weapon still in hand.

Vlad couldn't have taken the microphone with him. If plan B wouldn't work, then she had to go with plan A. She had to find it and go with her first plan of talking to Danny. The door out of this place was locked so that wouldn't work. She looked at the screen. Danny had stopped the ray he'd been shooting at Vlad and was talking. She could just barely hear what he was saying, and trust me, it was not something nice! Vlad was almost unconscious, slumped against the wall looking very drained.

If she wasted more time, she feared he would kill him. What was wrong with him? He would never kill anyone or hurt them purposely without good reason. Something must be wrong, there was no other explanation. She spent only a few seconds looking at the screen before she hopping around trying to look for the microphone.

She blew a few locks of black hair out of her face skillfully and looked around the room. "Come on, come on," she mumbled as she went. "If Danny won't come to his senses by himself, then I'll have to help him." She hopped a few more steps towards the control panel and glanced at the controls. Vlad had been standing here, in this spot, while talking to Danny. But there was no microphone in sight. Maybe he used something else to talk to him.

Only wasting about one minute looking at the controls, she found what she was looking for: a small voice-box like device built into the control panel. "Yesss!" she hissed triumphantly. "But how do I turn it on?" Her eyes landed on a red button right next to it. She bit her lip. Button needed. She looked at the screen.

"Your time is up, Vlad," she heard Danny's harsh voice come through. He stood from his currently hunched position next to Vlad and reached for the middle-aged man's suit vest to pull him up. The girl quickly sat down, legs stretched out in front of her. She dropped the ray-gun in her hands and tried her hardest to make her arms slide the rope binding her wrists pass under her. "Come on," she said, wincing as she heard a sick snap come from both shoulders. Her wrists now were just under her thighs. She smiled slightly and let herself fall down onto her back, legs up in the air.

She slid her wrists, still bound together, up her legs, a tricky skill she'd learned a long time ago. Time felt as if it were going really fast, but once her hands were in front of her and the struggle was over, she realized only about a minute had passed. She sighed and pressed the button to turn on the intercom. "Danny!" she shouted into it. Her shoulders hurt, and she realized her heart was accelerating, beating loudly in her chest. "Danny stop!"

* * *

Danny's fist glowed a warped gray-black color as he held Vlad up with his other hand. Then he froze. "Danny!" the voice shouted. "Danny stop!" His eyes widened. It couldn't be, could it? He let go of Vlad, him falling to the ground with a soft thud. He heard the man groan softly, but paid it no mind.

"Sam!" he shouted, feeling his eyes sting suddenly.

"Danny, listen to me!" her voice came again. "You don't want to do this! It was all a lie! I'm okay! Really! He tricked you!"

"But..." Danny puttered, looking at the man before him. Everything came back to him. He could once again feel the soreness of his muscles, once again could think clearly, see clearly. "I saw you die..."

"It wasn't me!" Sam shouted sternly. "It wasn't me! It was a clone! Trust me, Danny!"

"I...I trust you," Danny whispered raggedly. His voice returned to its normal soothing tone, no longer hoarse and ragged, filled with such hatred. Tears returned to his eyes again as he saw what he'd done to Vlad. He was bruised and battered, unconscious. "Sam," he asked, voice breaking. "Sam, what am I?"

"You're you!" Sam said. "I don't know what happened, but I'm sure it wasn't all you doing that to Vlad! Get out of there and come get me! That isn't Vlad's lab, he built it separate from his lab. Just get out of there now!"

"But..." Danny started, but Sam didn't let him finish.

"Now!" she shouted again. Danny quickly made his way to the door, opened it and found himself standing in a hallway. He chose a direction to where another door was located and ran towards it. He opened it and found Sam standing there, surveying all the monitors in the room, looking for him. Danny found himself smiling, happy and a little confused at the same time.

Sam looked at him and smiled. "Danny!" she said happily.

"Sam!" Danny replied, equally happy. He quickly walked over to her and began to undo the knots of the rope without a single word. Sam only watched him. "There," he whispered and stood again, embracing her tightly in his arms. He held her close, afraid that if he should let go she would vanish. He looked at the screen, at Vlad's slumped figure. "Sam," he said. "What did I do?"

"I don't know, Danny," Sam said, pulling away slightly. "But I don't want to talk about it either. I want to get us out of here before Vlad wakes up."

"But what if he needs help," Danny said. "I did that to him, it's sort of my fault."

"No it's his," Sam told him. "He pulled you into this, he better pull himself out. Let's just go home, please?"

Danny looked at her with saddened blue eyes, but nodded feebly. "Fine," he whispered.

"Good," Sam said. Then her eyes widened suddenly as she noticed Danny leaning close to her, eyes closed. "Danny: she managed a weak whisper, but couldn't get another word out before she noticed what was happening. She felt his lips press against her, almost possessively. She let her eyes fall close beneath his entrancing kiss. It really only lasted a few seconds, but to Sam it was all she needed after all of the happenings. Danny pulled away, and before she could say anything, he quickly took her into his arms, keeping her close still, and flying into the real portal and into the Ghost Zone. Not a single word left his lips as they flew.

Sam watched him closely. His eyes were green, no longer red. He looked normal now, sounded normal too. She sighed contently and let cuddled close to him, drowning out the echo-like sounds of the Ghost Zone and listening closely to the warming message only his heart could give her.

* * *

E/N: Anotehr chapter! My mom is mad because it's late. --shurg-- No, it's not the end. I think I've got two chapters left before the end!

--Airamé Phantom


	27. I Wanted To Ask You Something

A/N: I once again haven't up-dated in awhile. Kill me why don't'cha!**

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**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

**I Wanted To Ask You Something**

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Upon reaching the Fenton Ghost-Portal, Danny sighed. "What's wrong?" Sam asked him, her voice a little quiet because she found herself falling asleep.

"I'm gonna go back into the Ghost Zone once I talk to Jazz and probably Tucker if she called him or something," Danny said.

"What, why?" Sam asked, looking at him. Danny looked down at her.

"I need to talk to someone," Danny answered. "I'll only be a few minutes though, promise."

Sam seemed reluctant, but nodded anyway. Danny phased through the portal door and into the lab. He phased, still, through the wall and into the living room. Sure enough, Jazz was pacing back and forth across the floor, mumbling to herself about something incoherently. "Jazz," Danny whispered, becoming visible again. She quickly stopped and turned towards the two as Danny set Sam down.

"You're back!" she squealed, walking over quickly and throwing her arms around them.

"Oh, ow, ow," Danny said, easing away from her. "Please, don't do that."

"Oh, sorry," Jazz said, letting them go. Danny rubbed his shoulders gently, wincing. "What happened? It's been nearly seven hours!"

"Well, let's see," Sam said, counting on her fingers. "Vlad, A) kidnapped me and then made a clone of me. B) Put the clone to fool Danny into giving him energy through his emotions..."

Danny stopped her. "He fooled me into doing these trials in order to save Sam's life. In the end, I lost, but fortunately for me, it was just a clone, not the real Sam," he said, looking at Sam carefully. "Then I accidentally beat up Vlad and we got away. The end."

"I tell a way better story," Sam pointed out. Danny grinned and looked at Jazz, who was mildly confused.

"Let's just leave it at: Vlad kidnapped Sam, fooled you, and you got away after beating him, capeesh?" Jazz asked. They nodded. "Unfortunately, Tucker hasn't made it over yet. I called him, but he never answered. I left a message though."

"Did you call his cell?" Sam asked. Jazz nodded.

"He's probably grounded again," Danny said then. Jazz shrugged.

"I tried," she said. "But you guys, especially Danny, must be exhausted! We should get you guys into bed pronto."

"Uh..." Danny and Sam mumbled in unison. Jazz finally went over what she'd said and quickly waved both hands in the air.

"You guys!" she complained. They broke into laughter. "Well, I still think you should get some sleep."

"I've got something I need to do first, though," Danny quickly said.

"Danny, you of all should be getting some rest," Sam said. "You've been running around destroying robots, capturing ghosts, and beating up bad guys for a non-stop seven full hours."

"I know," Danny said. "But I've just really got to do this. Come on, it'll only be a few minutes. I know what I'm doing. I'm not five."

"Just let him," Jazz said. "I'm sure he really does know what he's doing. Besides, you left Vlad beat up, didn't you? If you did there's no problem." Danny nodded at her slowly, still looking at Sam.

"Fine," she said. "But you'd better be back and quick." Danny nodded and was about to phase out when he was taken by surprise as Sam's lips quickly met his. The kiss was much to quick for his liking, but it left a sensation he couldn't quite get over too quickly. "Else I'll knock you senseless."

Danny smiled and saluted before phasing out the room and back into the lab.

"So you guys are finally...an 'item', huh?" Jazz asked. Sam sighed but said no more. Were they together now? Could they even be together? I mean, with all the ghosts hunting him down she wouldn't be able to take it.

* * *

Danny, meanwhile, was already in the Ghost Zone. He knew exactly where he was going and exactly what he was going to do, but had no idea what in the world he was going to say once he got there. He had a small clue, but what's that compared to everything else? Nothing. He sighed as the floating doors around him began to become less and less abundant. Then a tower came into view and the doors became replaced by gears and other types of clock parts. He paid them no mind. He'd come here to do only one thing and was not about to let this distract him. Even if the place looked a little ominous.

He reached one of the windows of the tower and quickly flew inside. No one was in the tower, he noticed, but the strange feeling of being watched flooded his system. "Hello?" he called. No answer. He bit his lower lip.

Blinking, he looked around, landing on the floor. Maybe this was a bad time. "Daniel," came the old-sounding voice from behind him. Danny whirled around on his heels, nearly falling down. The old-aged ghost stood - floated, actually - before him. Danny sighed and slowed his heart beat.

"Clockwork," he greeted right back. the ghost smiled thinly and switched into a younger state.

"Why have you come?" he asked.

"I wanted to ask you something," Danny said.

* * *

E/N: I'm gonna leave the chapter there. I know it's short and all, but trust me, it's almost the end of the story so I wanna give you guys a little more to read by spacing the chapters out and putting in a little more plot. Also, the little talk between Clockwork and him, well, you'll have to wait for that later. Plus I may Write a sequel to this one. Fun, fun!

--Airamé Phantom


	28. Interesting

A/N: Good afternoon! Hope you like this chapter, you've waited long enough.**

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**Chapter Twenty-Eight**

**Interesting**

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_"Back during the trials," Danny had started. "The last one, more like it, it felt as if I was only searching for something to take my anger out on. Technus was there so I took it out on him. I didn't realize it at first because the change was so small. But when Vlad tricked me into think he killed Sam...I lost it."_

_"It is only normal, Daniel, she was your friend."_

_"Yeah, but it couldn't be natural," Danny said. "It's like I could control everything I was doing, but I didn't have a choice in the whole thing. As if I were watching a movie where I'm the main character, but I can't do anything to change the plot. Do...do you understand?"_

_"Yes," Clockwork nodded. "But, Daniel, do _**you**_ understand?"_

* * *

The question had left Danny very puzzled, more puzzled than ever. But Clockwork was right, just like he always was. Danny didn't understand. He'd come to Clockwork because of that. He wanted to know where he'd gotten so much power. How and from who. The answers weren't clear, nor was the problem itself.

* * *

_"But..." Danny had continued. _

_"Daniel, how can you want to find an answer to a question that you have not yet discovered? Do you know what you are looking for?"_

_"Yes," Danny said. "I want to know where I got so much power from."_

_"And do you know what power it was?" _

_"No, that's what I need to find out," Danny said. He was getting impatient._

_"There are many types of powers in the world," Clockwork said. "I cannot answer any question that is unclear."_

_Danny sighed. "Fine," he said. "Then, Clockwork, can you tell me about something else?"_

_"What is that?"_

_"During the trials, I was sent to a place called the Warriors' Grave. Is it real?"_

_"Very real," Clockwork said. "It is a region in the Ghost Zone long forgotten by most. They say warriors inhabit the area. Some good, others bad, but mostly strong and powerful."_

_"So then the Negatives must be real too?" Danny asked. Clockwork nodded. "There's someone I met there, her name was Keena. She was about eighteen, has been in the Ghost Zone since primitive times? Do you know her?"_

_"It sounds familiar, but I cannot say I do," Clockwork said. "Maybe researching is at hand. Anything else?"_

_"No. That's all I wanted to know..."_

_

* * *

_

Now Danny lay in his bed, tossing and turning, trying to get in a few hours of sleep. He finally groaned and turned onto his back, staring at the ceiling. It was only about five in the morning, and he was really tired, but he just couldn't get to sleep. He bolted straight up at the sound of his door opening. Someone peeked in. Danny tensed, then relaxed at finding who it was. He sighed. "Sheesh, Sam, you want to give me a heart-attack?" he asked.

"Sorry," she said. "Did I wake you?"

"No, I've been awake for a while. I can't sleep," he said.

"Me neither," she said, and closed the door quietly behind her and she made her way to his bed and sat down. "Why couldn't you sleep?"

"I've been thinking about whatClockwork said," Danny replied sadly. "I just don't understand what he meant by not even knowing what I want to ask. I know perfectly what I want to ask."

"Maybe he's speaking in riddle," Sam said. "He's supposed to know everything right?"

"Well, yeah, but..." Danny trailed off.

"Then you having to find this out must have something to do with it," she said. "Just trust him, okay?" Danny looked at her, but nodded. He sighed.

"Okay," he mumbled.

"So," Sam said. "Scoot over, will ya?" Danny blinked.

"Say again?" he asked.

"Scoot over!" she repeated, getting up and pushing him to the side. "It's cold!" Danny couldn't believe she pushed him a clear five inches from where he was sitting before. He scooted over uncertainly. Then he watched as she sat back down, but this time beneath the blankets and perfectly beside him.

She looked at him. "What?" she asked. Danny gave a small, uncertain smile. She laughed. "I won't be here too long. Just wanna talk, sheesh, not like I'm asking for you to_**-**_" Danny put a hand over her mouth.

"Please, don't say it," he said. "I really wouldn't be able to handle it!" She smiled as he removed his hand.

"So how exactly did Clockwork's talk with you go?" she asked.

"Well..."

* * *

Soon after ten, Sam's parents called that they were already home and that Danny should bring her over. He did just that. He could tell they were angry too, probably because she spent the night with him. If they only knew exactly what had really gone on. Well, maybe it's best they didn't. Right after Danny got back home his parents arrived too. They brought with them a story of how one particular Ghost hunter had invented a type of device that would literally tear the ghost into a million pieces. Trust me, not a pretty picture. Once they'd asked him how their day had gone, Jazz and Danny merely shook their heads and said nothing important nor interesting had gone on. As for Tucker, well, let's find out ourselves.

* * *

Next day. Monday. School. Sam and Danny were standing at Tucker's locker, waiting for their techno geek friend to arrive. "Class is gonna start any minute," Danny complained. 

"He'll be here," Sam assured him. "You know he's always late."

"Not as much as me, and I'm early!"

Sam sighed. They leaned against the wall of lockers and waited for Tucker. Sure enough, he came into view, running towards them faster than they thought he could run.

"Guys!" he called.

"Finally!" Danny and Sam exclaimed. Tucker skidded to a stop, caught his breath, and turned to his locker. "My...parents took...away my...technology...last night," he said, still panting.

"Surprise, surprise," Danny mumbled.

"But...I got Jazz's...message this morning," he continued. "What happened?" He finally got his locker open.

"Nothing special," Danny said, shrugging one shoulder. "Why'd you get all your technology taken away?"

"Two words: Family. Reunion." Tucker's tone was one of slight amusement and anger.

"Cassie?" Sam asked. Tucker nodded. Cassie was Tucker's youngest niece. She was also the most active and never got tired. She loved to mess with Tucker's technology and sometimes got him in trouble. Cassie was extraordinarily smart so she could do anything Tucker could on his PDA from breaking through a security system and turning off the cameras to resetting his alarm clock to afternoon instead of morning.

"She switched my alarm off this morning too!" Tucker said.

"How'd you get in trouble, though?" Danny asked. He looked tired and Tucker noticed.

"I don't even know anymore," Tucker said, looking at him. "You sure you guys are okay?"

"We're fine, Tucker," Danny said, rubbing his eyes. He yawned and, as if on cue, the bell rang for class. Time for the most boring class in school history: history. I said history twice! Oh, wait, anyway, the trio sighed and started their way to class. Danny hoped he wouldn't fall asleep in class...

...and he nearly did.

They were reading from their textbook, Danny falling asleep already as the teacher read. "Many warriors died in this battle, of course, but there were some who led their warriors into victory," she read. She paused and looked at Danny. His book was open, of course, but his head was down, cradled in his arm on top of the open book. "Mr. Fenton." No answer. "Mr. Fenton!"

Danny snapped awake, eyes blinking rapidly to clear his vision. "What?" The class snickered at his response.

"Mr. Fenton, will you please join us on the next page," the teacher said. Danny looked at his book, noticed he was on the wrong page, and turned it. He nearly gasped, but stifled it. On the page was something he never thought he'd see. He could only stare at the warrior and her two companions. "Three of these warriors, the most well known were-" the teacher began again, but stopped at Danny's small remark.

"This is wrong," he said.

"Pardon, Mr. Fenton?" she asked him impatiently. Danny scanned over the next few sentences before answering.

"The information in the book," he said, looking up. "It's wrong."

"Well, I guess mistakes do happen," the teacher said, looking at him strangely. Sam shot Danny a look that said to shut up. She'd recognized the girl too, but had said nothing towards the matter.

"Ms. Simpson, are there any books on these warriors in the library?" Danny asked then, glancing at Sam, then back at the teacher. He held up the book and pointed at the picture. She looked astounded.

"I'm sure there are," she said. "But I'm sure the library near Berry Street would be a much better choice if you want to do research on them." Her voice held a slight tone of disbelief. Fenton interested in history? Especially this particular era. It just wasn't heard of.

Danny nodded and turned the page in his book, reading again. The teacher went on with her own reading to the class, still glancing at Danny every once in awhile. For a guy with low grades in history, he sure seemed interested.

* * *

After school, Danny found himself canceling his plans with Sam and Tucker so he could go to the library. He now sat on the floor in the historical biography section of the library, leaning against the bookcase lightly, book in hand with three other books piled next to him. He didn't know why, but he felt he owed it to Keena to learn a little more about her. Who knows, maybe they'll meet again someday. And maybe they can become allies too. 

"Keena the Warrior was said to have had two loyal companions to fight by her. They were given the names of Kent the Skillful and Dean the Strong. Together they made an almost unstoppable team during war between neighboring tribes and cities..."

* * *

Off in Madison Wisconsin, let's just say Vlad is a little preoccupied with his own studying. Danny had left him pretty beat up, but with no broken bones luckily. A few bruises here and there, but other than that he was doing great. The dim light coming from the lamp next to him so he could read illuminated only a small area of his lab. The place was really messed up after receiving so much power from Danny. Vlad wanted to know everything about it. 

Then a sudden wailing coming from the portal sent him getting tpu from the chair he was sitting on and to his feet. Smoke came the portal, alerts and alarms and sirens wailing that an extremely powerful energy source was coming the portal's way. Then it came. the portal doors burst open, flying off their spot on the portal opening, one door nearly knocking Vlad over. But just because he wasn't in his best condition, didn't mean he didn't have the reflexes to move out of the way quickly. He landed without any balance and fell onto his knees.

The smoke from the portal cleared, revealing an oddly familiar figure. Was that...Danny? No, he looked much older and didn't look in the least bit like the Danny Vlad knew to be. He looked stronger, and had a look on his face that said he as here to take care of unfinished business and was not going to show mercy.

"Who are you?" Vlad asked in awe.

The figured stepped closer. "Well if it isn't Vlad Masters," the figure said. "Nice to see you again."

"We've met?" Vlad asked, raising an eyebrow.

The figure smirked. "I guess you can say that. Now out of my way," he said, walking forward.

Vlad got in his way. "You're not going anywhere!" he said.

The figure sighed. "If it must be the hard way," he said. He raised one hand, shot Vlad with an ectoplasmic energy beam. Vlad was knocked to one side onto the desk where he'd been reading.

The figure sneered at Vlad's motionless silhouette and then spotted the book. "What's this," he mused to himself. He read the title. "Gem of Possession. Sounds interesting." He skimmed through and smirked broadly. "Very interesting. Looks like this reunion is going to get much more interesting that I had ever imagined." He laughed a wicked, evil laugh that was accompanied by the shorting out of the reading lamp on the desk.

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The End

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E/N: Hope you guys enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it! You've delivered praise and critique and I appreciated every ounce of it! Until next time in my sequel. I hope to get it up as soon as possible, but it may take me awhile. Well, thanks again! 

--Airamé Phantom


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